The twenty twenty five Grammy Awards are this weekend, and some of the presenters have been have been announced. Earlier to day, the Recording Academy revealed that Cardi b. Sizza, and Will Smith will join Taylor Swift among the presenters at the award show. One could argue there is a big moment for Will Smith, who hasn't presented on this big of a stage since slapping comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars in twenty twenty two.
Smith did perform at the BET Awards last.
Summer, but that's been about it in terms of appearing at major award shows.
By the way, the Grammys will also celebrate the life.
Of Quincy Jones, in addition to the resilience of Los Angeles amid the ongoing fires in the city. But I want to focus on Will Smith. Obviously, I've been critical of Will Smith because I'm a friend of Chris Rocks and I don't appreciate what Will did.
But I want to thank several people.
I want to thank my man Charlie Mack, who is a bodyguard and a longtime friends span in decades.
For Will Smith.
I want to thank the great Antoine Food, the director and producer extraordinaire who did Emancipation with Will Smith would have won an Oscar for that too, had Will Smith not.
Slapped Chris Rock.
I want to thank Will Packer, who produced the oscars, that same oscars that Will Smith did what he did with Chris Rock.
I want to thank my man Dougie.
Cash, who used to work at Hulu and used to work under Will Smith years ago, and stuff like that. They weren't the only ones, but primarily those four brothers reached out to me directly, and Charlie Mack was the most profound because I had said something about Will Smith prior to Bad Boys, Rod to Die Coming Out, which by the way, was a fantastic movie I've now seen about five times, and Charlie Mack said, what about Grace Stephen aing.
He made a mistake. And I explained to Charlie Mack.
That as bad as I thought it was to be slapping a black man on national television, what really vexed.
Me most was.
How it would affect Will Packer, how it would affect Antoine Fuqua, how it would affect Chris Rock. And I thought about the collateral damage that would take fold and how it would detrimentally affect opportunities for all of us down the line. And I just found myself asking how could he do that? How could he lose himself and
hurt all of us like that? But Will Smith is a fantastic artist who's done so much for so many people in this world, especially stuff you know, folks from our community that the reality is is they were right. And I've known that for quite some times, which is why I haven't said anything from Will Smith. To see him in the movies is a great thing. To see
him still thriving is a great thing. Chris Rockins moved on with his life, who says Will Smith isn't entitled to do so himself, And to think about him coming back to the big stage and being at the awards and what have you. I'm quite sure he'll get a good ovation, and it'll be because none of us want to be measured by our worst moment. All of us
are flawed in the eyes of God. I knew that before, but I know that even now, and my man and Dougie and Antoine Fouqua and the Will Packer, and especially to my man Charlie Mac, I just want to say thank you I want to say thank you for reminding me of something I should have known all along. Despite what Will Smith did, he still wanted the great ones
and he's one of the genuine good guys. He made a mistake, and all of us should move on, especially since Chris Rock has moved on, and we should just march ahead and wish him nothing but the best to.
Him and his family. That's where I'm at with it. I just wanted to say that one