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Will Smith Had Visions His Career Would Be 'Destroyed' Before Oscars Attack

Will Smith
Will Smith attends Paramount Pictures' premiere of "Gemini Man" on Oct. 6, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

By    |   Tuesday, 24 May 2022 11:59 AM EDT

Will Smith had a vision that his entire career was "destroyed" prior to the Oscars controversy.

Smith faced widespread backlash after he walked onto the stage at the 94th Annual Academy Awards and struck Chris Rock in the face after Rock cracked a joke about the actor's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Smith subsequently resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was then banned for 10 years from attending the Oscars or any other events hosted by the Academy.

Now, in an interview with David Letterman that was conducted prior to the event and forms part of Letterman's Netflix series "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction," Smith said he hallucinated his career falling apart after taking ayahuasca, a drink brewed from plants that cause a psychedelic experience, the Daily Mail reported.

After 45 minutes of ingesting the drink, the hallucinations began.

"All of a sudden, it's like I start seeing all of my money flying away," Smith recounted to Letterman. "And my house is flying away. And my career is gone," he continued. "And I'm trying to, like, grab for my money and my career. My whole life is getting destroyed."

Smith admitted the vision represented his "fear in real life." He recalled hearing a voice in his head saying, "This is what the … it is. This is what the … life is," then hearing his daughter Willow Smith, 21, calling out for him in the distance in distress. Smith seemed able to forget about his imagined career troubles to defend his family.

"Then slowly, I stopped caring about my money, I just wanted to get to Willow," he explained. "I stopped caring about my house, about my career."

Smith said he took several deep breaths and, once the hallucinations subsided, he realized that "anything can happen" in his life but he could "handle it."

"I can handle any person that I lose; I can handle anything that goes wrong in my life; I can handle anything in my marriage. I can handle anything that this life has to offer me," he said.

Smith then dismissed his fears, saying there was no substance to them.

"First of all, 99 percent of the s**t you worry about never happens, he said, adding that the vast majority of 'your pain and your misery is all self-generated — it's not real," he said.

Smith's career has felt the effects of the Oscars' ordeal, with many of his projects either delayed or announced not to be moving forward. There have been rumors that "Bad Boys 4" has also been shelved but earlier this month Sony Chair Tom Rothman disputed that claim.

"That movie's been in development and still is," he said in an interview with Deadline. "There weren't any brakes to pump because the car wasn't moving. That was a very unfortunate thing that happened, and I don't think it's really my place to comment, except to say that I've known Will Smith for many years, and I know him to be a good person.

"That was an example of a very good person having a very bad moment, in front of the world. I believe his apology and regret is genuine, and I believe in forgiveness and redemption."

Zoe Papadakis

Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


TheWire
Will Smith had a vision that his entire career was "destroyed" prior to the Oscars controversy. Smith faced widespread backlash after he walked onto the stage at the 94th Annual Academy Awards and hit Chris Rock in the face.
will smith, visions, career
539
2022-59-24
Tuesday, 24 May 2022 11:59 AM
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