1 00:00:01,760 --> 00:00:05,360 Speaker 1: Hello, good people of Hollywood Land. Welcome back for another 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:09,639 Speaker 1: installment of our little Hollywood and True Crime podcast. We're 3 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: reaching back into the archive this week to bring mister 4 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: Jada Pinkett Smith to your earbuds, Will Smith. And we 5 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: all know Will Smith as the big budget leading man 6 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:23,560 Speaker 1: he's turned himself into over the last few decades and 7 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: as bankable as star as a movie studio could ask for. 8 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: But back in twenty twenty two, his ridiculous behavior at 9 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:34,960 Speaker 1: the Academy Awards caused us to look back at Will 10 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: Smith's upbringing, into the violence that he grew up with, 11 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: and to the criminal elements he associated with, to being 12 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:46,160 Speaker 1: locked up in how any or all of these experiences 13 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: may have informed this actor's choices on that disgraceful night 14 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: at the Oscars on stage with Chris Rock. Here's a 15 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: little bit of history that you might not know about 16 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 1: one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Will Smith. As always, we 17 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: hope that you enjoy listening to this episode as much 18 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: as we hear a double Elvis enjoyed putting it together 19 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:10,400 Speaker 1: for you. So, without further ado, here is Will Smith 20 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: in Hollywood Land. This episode contains content that may be 21 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: disturbing to some listeners. Hollywood Land is a production of double. 22 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 2: Elvis con der scoot doing that. No, you can't shim 23 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 2: more count him out yet know and I like yv 24 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 2: me inglish, not meen sembrevish. So Hi boom ho la 25 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 2: la la boom Holo la holo la la boomla la 26 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:43,119 Speaker 2: la boom Holo La la boom Holo la la boom 27 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 2: Hola la la boom hola la la boom la boola la. 28 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: The stories about Will Smith are insane. He was arrested 29 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: and put in jail after a brawl at a popular 30 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: radio station left one man nearly blind. He was harassed 31 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: by a disgruntled music executive who idled in his car 32 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:10,079 Speaker 1: outside the Smith family home with a handgun on the dashboard. 33 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: He blew through ten thousand dollars a day on booze 34 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,360 Speaker 1: and women when he was supposed to be spending that money. 35 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 1: I'm making a record. And yes we all know about 36 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:22,800 Speaker 1: the shocking slap heard around the world that he planted 37 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 1: on Chris Rock on Live TV during the twenty twenty 38 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: two Academy Awards ceremony. Despite that slap, Will Smith still 39 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 1: accepted the Oscar for Best actor later that night, because 40 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 1: Will Smith makes great films, unlike that clip I played 41 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: for you at the top of the show. That wasn't 42 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: a clip from a great film. That was a fair 43 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: youse sample from the Library of Congress of John Olifson 44 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:55,239 Speaker 1: performing Boom Fla La La in nineteen thirty eight. I 45 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: played you that clip because I can't afford the rights 46 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:01,919 Speaker 1: to a clip from William Shatner's track five, The Final Frontier. 47 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: And why would I play you that specific slice of 48 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:10,359 Speaker 1: Marsh Mellon Cheese. Could I afford it? Because that was 49 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: the number one movie in America on June seventh, nineteen 50 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,680 Speaker 1: eighty nine, And that was the day that Will Smith 51 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 1: was arrested and charged with assault. On this episode a 52 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:25,360 Speaker 1: radio station brawl, the slap heard around the world Marsh 53 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: Mellon Cheese and Will Smith. I'm Jake Brennan in This 54 00:03:31,760 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: is Hollywood Land, March twenty seventh, twenty twenty two, the 55 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: Dolby Theater, Los Angeles. Will Smith was ready, ready for 56 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: the applause, ready for the recognition. He was ready to 57 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: feel the overwhelming sense of pride and the respect that 58 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: came with being an Academy Award winning actor. Four months 59 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:24,280 Speaker 1: had passed since the release of King Richard, the biopic 60 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: that starred Will Smith as Richard Williams, father to Tennis 61 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: icons Venus and Serena. The buzz around Will's portrayal of 62 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:37,039 Speaker 1: the Williams patriarch was indeed oscar worthy. The real Venus 63 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 1: and Serena weren't just advocates, they were damned near evangelists. 64 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:45,920 Speaker 1: Richard himself wasn't present during the film's promotional rollout, but 65 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:50,799 Speaker 1: he gave his blessing. The stars had aligned here tonight. 66 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 1: After decades of hip hop records and blockbuster action flicks 67 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: and everything else in between, Will Smith was going to 68 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 1: finally take home that coved golden statue heat But first 69 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: he had to go through this. He had to sit 70 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: in the audience at the ninety fourth Academy Awards ceremony 71 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 1: and endure the Chris everybody hates, at least the Chris 72 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 1: that Will hated. At this moment, Chris Rock was presenting 73 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,120 Speaker 1: the award for Best Documentary Feature Film. Everyone in the 74 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:23,719 Speaker 1: room knew that the award belonged the Summer of Soul 75 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 1: Questloves Beloved. Looked back at the nineteen sixty nine Harlem 76 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: cultural festival. But for Will, this moment had nothing to 77 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,280 Speaker 1: do with a movie or an award. This moment was 78 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:36,880 Speaker 1: about whatever was about to come out of Chris Rock's mouth. 79 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,360 Speaker 1: Chris had a history of throwing shade at Will's wife, 80 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:46,040 Speaker 1: Jada Pinkett Smith, and history loves to repeat. Will braced 81 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:50,040 Speaker 1: himself for another of Chris's biting remarks, those one liners 82 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:53,840 Speaker 1: he called jokes. Will didn't have to wait long, because 83 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:57,480 Speaker 1: apparently Chris Rock couldn't wait to knock Jada Pinkett Smith 84 00:05:57,600 --> 00:05:59,760 Speaker 1: down a peg with a reference to her bald head. 85 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: In the room erupted with laughter. Suddenly, each drink that 86 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:07,840 Speaker 1: Will knocked back that night knocked back at him. His 87 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: wife's very public struggle with alopecia was now a cheap 88 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: Hollywood paunch line. Nah, he wasn't about to be disrespected 89 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: like that, not on a nightlight tonight. Will let out 90 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:21,920 Speaker 1: his own laugh loud enough for everyone to hear what 91 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 1: It wasn't genuine. It was a decoy for what he 92 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 1: was about to do next, a mindless decision, a life 93 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:31,840 Speaker 1: changing decision. It wasn't the first time that Will's anger 94 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 1: got the best of them, but it was the first 95 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,279 Speaker 1: time the fans would see it on the world stage, 96 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:39,559 Speaker 1: the ones who first knew him as their beloved Fresh Prince, 97 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:41,920 Speaker 1: just a scrappy kid from Philly who didn't even have 98 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:44,359 Speaker 1: a rep yet when he delivered a generation to fining 99 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 1: Wrap on how parents just don't understand. But maybe the 100 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:51,720 Speaker 1: fans were the ones who didn't understand. Will Smith wasn't 101 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 1: that nineteen year old kid anymore. His fucket fifties were here, 102 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: His dark side had reawakened, and he was ready to 103 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: show people what time it really was. The first time 104 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: Will Smith won a major award was over thirty years earlier, 105 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: back in nineteen eighty nine. He did it not as 106 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 1: Will Smith the actor, but as his alter ego, the 107 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: Fresh Prince, alongside his musical partner Jeffrey Allen Towns aka 108 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: Djjsyjeff and the hip hop duo didn't just win the 109 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: Grammy for Best Rap Performance, they won the first ever 110 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: Grammy for Best Rap Performance. The Grammy Awards had never 111 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: recognized hip hop as a musical category worth celebration until now, 112 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: not that fans watching at home would know. The Grammys 113 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:41,160 Speaker 1: refused to actually televise the presentation of that award, and 114 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:43,840 Speaker 1: that was some bullshit. Nobody could watch Will and Jeff 115 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: accept this historic award. Fuck that noise. Will boycotted the show. 116 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:52,160 Speaker 1: But that was all four months ago, in February. Now 117 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: it was June, and Will Smith was no longer experiencing 118 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: conflicted feelings about an award that doubled as a backhanded compliment. 119 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,240 Speaker 1: He wasn't holding that award. He was holding nothing. He 120 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: was alone in the six x eight foot jail cell, 121 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: well mostly alone. There were other inmates invading his personal 122 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:15,040 Speaker 1: space with their body odor and their halatosis, begging for 123 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 1: autographs even though they had an infant or paper. He 124 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: may have thought he wanted the attention before, but now 125 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 1: he didn't. He didn't want empathy either. He just wanted 126 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 1: a wigh out. He hadn't done anything wrong technically, but 127 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: he was in the room where it happened. He could 128 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 1: still see that poor bastard on the ground, his head 129 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: gushing blood. That guy wasn't dead now, surely he was 130 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 1: in the hospital wishing he was dead, or more likely, 131 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: wishing Will and his crew were dead, and plotting ways 132 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 1: in which he could make that a reality. It all 133 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: happened in one split second. Chaos, fear, madness, not that 134 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: those things were anything new. The world began in madness, 135 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 1: and in madness it continued. The madness was always there, 136 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: all the way back back to one of the most 137 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: unnerving memories, lodged deep inside Will Smith's cranium, Back to 138 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 1: his family's Winfield home in West Philadelphia. Mom Mom cowering 139 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:12,640 Speaker 1: in the hallway, Daddio hunched over her. Will was so 140 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:16,559 Speaker 1: eager to please Mom. Mom, make her smile, make her laugh. Mo. 141 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: Mom was the light of Will's world. But now Daddio 142 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,080 Speaker 1: is making her scream as he hit her with his fists. 143 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:25,680 Speaker 1: Her radiance dimmed. But what even was life if Will 144 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 1: couldn't protect his own mother. He asked himself that question then, 145 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:31,960 Speaker 1: when he was just nine years old, and he didn't 146 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,719 Speaker 1: have an answer. But he was sure one thing he'd 147 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: never become his father, That men never raising his hands 148 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 1: to a woman, That men shedding his young torment itself, 149 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:45,920 Speaker 1: the kid who easily spooked, the kid who left his 150 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:48,600 Speaker 1: safe Catholic school for overbook High School in the hilltop 151 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 1: section of West Philly. The schools were just a mile 152 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:54,480 Speaker 1: away from each other, but they were worlds apart. Will 153 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:57,439 Speaker 1: needed an assist to adapt to life at Overbrook. His 154 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:00,400 Speaker 1: eighteen year old cousin Paul, visiting from Jersey for the summer, 155 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:05,040 Speaker 1: gave him a crash course in street smarts. Paul was buff, mysterious, 156 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:07,959 Speaker 1: a first degree black belt in kung Fu, and he 157 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:10,839 Speaker 1: was a hip hop head. Will barely knew what hip 158 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:13,240 Speaker 1: hop was, but he knew that Paul was cool as fuck, 159 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: and he wanted to know more. Paul's treasure chest of 160 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:19,839 Speaker 1: Boomback mixtape sent Will into overdrive. Mellie Mallow on the 161 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: Furious five, Grandmaster Flash Cool Mode, and then there was 162 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:27,680 Speaker 1: Will's favorite, the artists that would single handedly unleashed Will's 163 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:32,120 Speaker 1: inner MC Grandmaster Kaz of the Coal Crush Brothers. This 164 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:35,400 Speaker 1: was the nineteen eighties. Whenever New York City rappers sounded 165 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 1: like they could be a wizard, and that wasn't a stretch. 166 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 1: They all protected their burrows like kingdoms, slaying competitors with 167 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:45,439 Speaker 1: street corner freestyle battles. Will could already talk incessantly, but 168 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:47,599 Speaker 1: give him a rhyme book and a beat, he was 169 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:49,960 Speaker 1: confident that his skill would go unrivaled in the streets 170 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:53,480 Speaker 1: of West Philly. First, however, he just had to survive 171 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:58,320 Speaker 1: the halls of Overbrookai. Will rounded the stairwell at school 172 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,000 Speaker 1: just as a fist came around the corner and the 173 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:03,560 Speaker 1: sucker punch landed hard on the side of his head. 174 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:06,040 Speaker 1: Will barely get a look at the other kid, but 175 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 1: he did get a look at what hit him. Not 176 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:11,360 Speaker 1: just a clenched fist. Will Smith was knocked out cold 177 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:14,640 Speaker 1: by a fist holding a dial combination padlock. But when 178 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:17,600 Speaker 1: Will came to, he tasted fresh blood in his mouth, 179 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:21,040 Speaker 1: His swollen top lip was pulsing. He had the worst 180 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 1: headache of his life. And that was some brass knuckle 181 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:27,080 Speaker 1: shit sent him head first down the stairs. And why 182 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:30,000 Speaker 1: because that's what happens when you joke to the one 183 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,079 Speaker 1: kid in school who doesn't give a fuck about your confident, 184 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:36,599 Speaker 1: wrap battling persona that perhaps if he doesn't like you, 185 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,280 Speaker 1: well maybe his girlfriend will. They say, what doesn't kill 186 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:43,040 Speaker 1: you only makes you stronger, and Will Smith walked away 187 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:46,520 Speaker 1: from that high school altercation, vowing never to be blindsided again. 188 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 1: And to never be blindsided. You needed protection. You needed 189 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: a built in defense mechanism. You needed a crew, a 190 00:11:54,679 --> 00:11:57,319 Speaker 1: click guys who will stand by your side when the 191 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:23,840 Speaker 1: shit really goes down. Sleep was out of the question. 192 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 1: The other inmates made sure of that. They wouldn't leave 193 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:28,839 Speaker 1: him alone. It was going to be a long night. 194 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:32,080 Speaker 1: Hopefully one night would be the extent of it. Hopefully 195 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:34,440 Speaker 1: you get out of this shithole in the morning. How 196 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: would he manage that A Grammy Award for Best Rap 197 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:40,000 Speaker 1: Performance meant a fuck all when you were sitting in 198 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:43,280 Speaker 1: a West Philly jail cell. A little statue wasn't going 199 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:47,480 Speaker 1: to make charges of aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, and reckless endangerment. 200 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:51,560 Speaker 1: Simply go away, think he had to think. He got 201 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:54,559 Speaker 1: one phone call right, he had to make account, and 202 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:58,040 Speaker 1: he did. Will Smith called the one person he knew 203 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: who could get him out of jail. He called JL. 204 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:07,559 Speaker 1: James Lassiter aka JL, was a key player in the 205 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:11,199 Speaker 1: Djjazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince Crew. JL was a 206 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:15,480 Speaker 1: duo's manager and surrogate father. He maintained responsibility and ran 207 00:13:15,559 --> 00:13:18,439 Speaker 1: a tight ship, and these were much needed skills for 208 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:21,280 Speaker 1: a group that around nineteen eighty seven, who was now 209 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:23,960 Speaker 1: opening big shows for Public Enemy and Two Lave Crew. 210 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,960 Speaker 1: They were also signing bad deals. Dana Goodman, a small 211 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:31,760 Speaker 1: time music executive, was more than ready to ring Will 212 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: and Jeff's local success dry Goodman. At Flash he rocked 213 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 1: gold chains that peaked up from behind designer tracksuits. He 214 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:42,760 Speaker 1: burned rubber at a steel blue outy four thousand cs 215 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: Quatro five speed, but it was all hostile. His record 216 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:49,240 Speaker 1: label didn't even have an office. Goodman's old records out 217 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:51,840 Speaker 1: of the trunk of his AUDI to young and impressionable 218 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:54,480 Speaker 1: Will and Jeff, A deal was a deal, and they 219 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: signed whatever paper Dana Goodman put in front of them. 220 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:00,600 Speaker 1: But the deal was bogus. Will was only seventeen years 221 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:03,800 Speaker 1: old when he signed the contract, and according to Pennsylvania law, 222 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 1: a person under the age of eighteen couldn't legally sign 223 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:09,960 Speaker 1: a contract without a parent or a guardian president, which 224 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:13,080 Speaker 1: there wasn't. The steady hands of guys like JL helped 225 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:15,319 Speaker 1: guide Will and Jeff from Goodman all the way to 226 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:18,480 Speaker 1: the London based label Jive Records, which re released the 227 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: duo's debut album, Rocked the House, the same one Goodman 228 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 1: had been selling out of his trunk. Goodman was irate. 229 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:28,680 Speaker 1: He blamed Jive Records for the loss of his cash cow. 230 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:32,080 Speaker 1: He blamed JL. He blamed whoever stuck their nose into 231 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:35,360 Speaker 1: the fucking business, but Dana Goodman lacked the funds and 232 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:39,520 Speaker 1: the legal representation to sue anymore. The street justice was 233 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 1: his only option. Will Smith saw the car parked out 234 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:50,040 Speaker 1: on the street in front of his family's house. He 235 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:53,240 Speaker 1: knew who was sitting behind the wheel steel blue out 236 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:56,480 Speaker 1: E four thousand. He heard the rumor too, the rumor 237 00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:58,560 Speaker 1: that Dana Goodman wasn't going to let Wills jump to 238 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 1: Jive records go down with out of fight. It was 239 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:04,720 Speaker 1: Daddio who sprang into action. He walked confidently to the 240 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:07,960 Speaker 1: Audi's passenger side window. He saw the handguns sitting on 241 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 1: the dashboard. He knew Goodman wanted revenge, but Daddio called 242 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:16,720 Speaker 1: Goodman's bluff because Daddio didn't take kindly to threats. Goodman 243 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: wanted to kill his son. He had to get his 244 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 1: lazy ass out of the car, walk into the house, 245 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:25,000 Speaker 1: and kill the entire fucking family. Then Goodman put the 246 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:27,680 Speaker 1: Audi in drive and sped off, but not before we 247 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:30,800 Speaker 1: swore he'd get his some other day, some other place, 248 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:34,840 Speaker 1: even if it meant returning with protection. Will Smith, on 249 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:38,040 Speaker 1: the other hand, was working on his own protection. Just 250 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: like a crew needs a manager slash father figure a 251 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 1: crew needs security. Will didn't have the means to book 252 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 1: top tier protection, but he had a guy from one 253 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,680 Speaker 1: of the roughest parts of South Philly, a headstrong and 254 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:53,200 Speaker 1: ruthless friend named Charles Alston, or as the streets knew 255 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 1: him best, Charlie Mack six six two ninety On tour, 256 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 1: Charlie Mayo left the grind be, but the grind did 257 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 1: not leave him. He boarded the tour bus with a 258 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:07,360 Speaker 1: trash bag filled with wads of cash. He wasn't leaving 259 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 1: Philadelphia without his paper on hand, and Will of the 260 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 1: boys didn't leave Philadelphia without accepting Charlie Mack for who 261 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:17,240 Speaker 1: he was. The secret weapon in their arsenal. Charlie Mack 262 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 1: was Will's right hand man. Charlie Mack had a sixth sense. 263 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 1: He knew trouble was about to happen before it happened. 264 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 1: If he pulled the crew out of a party before 265 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:27,320 Speaker 1: it was over, it was always for a good reason. 266 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:30,320 Speaker 1: Thank him later when you hear gunshots popping off as 267 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:32,720 Speaker 1: you're pulling away from the club. But there were some 268 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 1: things that even a guy like Charlie Mack couldn't protect 269 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:40,600 Speaker 1: you from, like the criticism about Will Smith's lighthearted bars. 270 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:44,479 Speaker 1: As the hip hop landscape became more and more ferocious, 271 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:48,240 Speaker 1: the MC's dissing each other from coast to coast, Will's 272 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:52,640 Speaker 1: rhymes remained palatable for kids and parents. He didn't cuss. 273 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 1: He was an anomaly, which didn't mean he wasn't successful. 274 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 1: His second album with DJJZ Jeff, He's the DJ I'm 275 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,960 Speaker 1: the rapp the one that featured parents Just Don't Understand, 276 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 1: went triple platinum and made it to number four on 277 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:09,280 Speaker 1: the Billboard two hundred. Over the years, both with Jeff 278 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,399 Speaker 1: and as a solo artist, Will continued to dominate the 279 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:15,760 Speaker 1: charts with hits like Summertime, Getting Jiggy with It, Miami, 280 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:19,160 Speaker 1: Men in Black, and Just the Two of Us. Despite 281 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 1: those wins, Will faced blow after blow after blow in 282 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:25,359 Speaker 1: the hip hop world. Some of his peers and haters 283 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:27,680 Speaker 1: didn't consider him a representative of the genre because this 284 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:31,880 Speaker 1: shit was so called corny and whitewashed. To them, Will 285 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:34,879 Speaker 1: wasn't the rapper, he was the parody. He was the 286 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:37,879 Speaker 1: guy who always resorted to clean humor and punchlines in 287 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,640 Speaker 1: his verses, and they all thought he was a guy 288 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 1: who would forever pull his punches. Looking back on it. 289 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:51,639 Speaker 1: His girlfriend's behavior had seemed strange for a while, and 290 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 1: from her perspective, Will Smith seems strange too. She didn't 291 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:57,960 Speaker 1: know if beneath the fresh Prince facade hid the Will 292 00:17:58,119 --> 00:18:00,440 Speaker 1: she once knew all those years ago, the one she 293 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:04,960 Speaker 1: fell in love with. This new Will had commercial success, charisma, charm, 294 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: but in all the wrong ways, and the fact that 295 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:09,040 Speaker 1: he was on the road all the time made it 296 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:11,240 Speaker 1: easy to suspect that he was finding a little something 297 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:15,040 Speaker 1: on the side, and they drifted apart. She was unfaithful. 298 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:18,159 Speaker 1: Will lost it when he found out. He grabbed an 299 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 1: iron poker sitting next to the fireplace and started swinging 300 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 1: it around. He shattered the glass panels in the wooden 301 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:26,879 Speaker 1: nutrim of her house, and then he shattered the rules, 302 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:30,679 Speaker 1: the no groupie rule, the one that kept women off 303 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,439 Speaker 1: tour buses and out of hotel rooms that fell by 304 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:36,480 Speaker 1: the wayside. He no longer played it safe. He'd knock 305 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: out anyone and tried to step to him, just like 306 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:41,120 Speaker 1: Charlie Mack taught him. But Charlie would also bill Will 307 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:43,719 Speaker 1: out of a jam if things got wild, even if 308 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,160 Speaker 1: that meant pulling Will off his ex girlfriend's new lover 309 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,880 Speaker 1: at a downtown Philly fashion Mark will had a fuck 310 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 1: it all attitude in the wake of his breakup. He 311 00:18:52,359 --> 00:18:54,920 Speaker 1: also had courage in the presence of Charlie Mack. But 312 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:57,480 Speaker 1: even though he was becoming a rap fenom globe trotting 313 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:01,720 Speaker 1: with his boys, it still wasn't enough. Will Smith wanted 314 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:03,879 Speaker 1: to show the public is worth and he did it 315 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 1: with cold, hard cash. He bought a candy apple red 316 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:11,239 Speaker 1: irock Z Camaro, a customed Chevy Suburban, a turquoise te 317 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,920 Speaker 1: top Corvette, his first motorcycle, a decked out blue Suzuki 318 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:18,639 Speaker 1: Katana six hundred, a sea foam Bend C three hundred. 319 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:22,119 Speaker 1: He also bought a lavish mansion which quickly became a 320 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:24,600 Speaker 1: hub for the Junior Black Mafia, a group of Philly 321 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:27,200 Speaker 1: drug dealers, and they hung out in the living room, 322 00:19:27,359 --> 00:19:30,760 Speaker 1: twenty or more of them, Greasy Philly cheese, steak wrappers 323 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:34,400 Speaker 1: from overbook pizza scattered around the kitchen floor, gambling, pool 324 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,959 Speaker 1: games running NonStop. But the Grammy Award winning MC had 325 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,720 Speaker 1: taken his eye off the eight ball. He lacked motivation. 326 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:44,000 Speaker 1: Didn't matter that Give Records wanted a new Djjsejeff and 327 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:46,640 Speaker 1: the fresh Prince record, or that they wanted it yesterday. 328 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:49,119 Speaker 1: The only way Will and Jeff agreed to make a 329 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:51,000 Speaker 1: record was to do it somewhere that could double us 330 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 1: a vacation. But their time spent at Compass Points Studios 331 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:58,919 Speaker 1: in Nasa, Bahamas was a boondoggle. Their budget was fucked. 332 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:02,920 Speaker 1: They blew through ten grand daily on nightclubs, Rumpunch, Jerk, Chicken, 333 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:07,679 Speaker 1: and Women, three hundred thousand total in unnecessary waste. They 334 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:10,040 Speaker 1: returned home to Philly after a month with barely a 335 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:12,200 Speaker 1: dime of the budget left in only two weeks to 336 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:16,840 Speaker 1: deliver the duo's third record, and in this corner staggered 337 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:19,800 Speaker 1: to a mediocre number thirty nine on the Billboard two hundred. 338 00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:23,760 Speaker 1: Still Will couldn't help but spend round trip tickets for 339 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:27,199 Speaker 1: him and Charlie Mack to Los Angeles. Any chance to escape, 340 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:31,679 Speaker 1: but there was no outrunning tax evasion three million dollars 341 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:36,359 Speaker 1: of income doom. Uncle Sam got his repayment through Will's motorcycles, 342 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:40,480 Speaker 1: his stereo systems, and even that first house. But the 343 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,359 Speaker 1: biggest hit of all was not being able to shake 344 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:46,919 Speaker 1: that feeling, the feeling that he was still seen as 345 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,200 Speaker 1: a joke, and that feeling gave him another feeling that 346 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: he had no choice, no choice but to strike out 347 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:59,600 Speaker 1: at anyone in his line of fire, including himself. We'll 348 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 1: be right back after this. We're We're were. It was 349 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:10,840 Speaker 1: impossible to know what the future held in the store 350 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:14,280 Speaker 1: for him once he held the future in his own hands. 351 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,080 Speaker 1: But now, in June of nineteen eighty nine, the future 352 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:20,640 Speaker 1: was out of reach and out of sight. The only 353 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:22,640 Speaker 1: thing Will Smith could see or field in this West 354 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:24,840 Speaker 1: Philly jail cell were the walls that were closing in 355 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:28,080 Speaker 1: on He got JL on the phone. With his one 356 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:31,280 Speaker 1: phone call. JL told Will that the other guy, the 357 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:33,520 Speaker 1: guy who took the beating, the beating that landed Will 358 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 1: in this cell in the first place, that guy was 359 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:39,040 Speaker 1: fighting for his life in the hospital. Motherfucker may never 360 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:43,360 Speaker 1: see again. Fuck. This was bad, but there was only 361 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:46,480 Speaker 1: one possible way out of it. JL told Will he'd 362 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:49,600 Speaker 1: have to put aside his pride, face the music. He 363 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:51,960 Speaker 1: had to make it right. And it had all gone 364 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:58,879 Speaker 1: wrong so fast. When Will Smith walked into the studios 365 00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 1: of wdas Philly's R and B in Classic Soul Station 366 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,360 Speaker 1: was all love at this time in nineteen eighty nine, 367 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:10,520 Speaker 1: The title for sultreus female in Philadelphia hands down belonged 368 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:13,879 Speaker 1: to Mimi Brown. The tone of her on air voice 369 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:16,640 Speaker 1: was seductive and she was just as easy to look 370 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:20,159 Speaker 1: at as she was to listen to. Plus, she was 371 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:22,000 Speaker 1: going to give Will and his new record some love. 372 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:26,640 Speaker 1: Will and Jeff were underbooked on the promotional circuit, anticipating 373 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 1: a critical drubbing for their rushed third album. Mimi Brown 374 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: seemed to be the only media personality interested in connecting 375 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:34,880 Speaker 1: with Will and hyping the record in a positive light. 376 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:38,920 Speaker 1: Will wasn't alone with Mimi in the WDAS studio boop. 377 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:42,280 Speaker 1: Charlie Mack was Mimi's biggest fan. He wasn't going to 378 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:44,040 Speaker 1: miss the chance to be in the same room with 379 00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 1: his favorite radio fix. But there was someone else too. 380 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:50,879 Speaker 1: As Will kick some freestyle verses into the mic in 381 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,959 Speaker 1: the studio booth live on the air, he looked through 382 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,240 Speaker 1: the boost glass of the small crowd of fans and 383 00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:59,800 Speaker 1: other local artists gathered there to watch, and looking right 384 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:06,240 Speaker 1: back at him was Dana Goodman. Dana Goodman, the record 385 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 1: exec who felt that he had been screwed over by 386 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: Will and Jive Records, the one who showed up outside 387 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:12,760 Speaker 1: Will's house with a gun on the dash of his 388 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: outy four thousand. He was right there, probably heard Will 389 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:18,840 Speaker 1: live on air and decided to make a visit, perhaps 390 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:21,680 Speaker 1: a long overdue visit, perhaps to collect what he thought 391 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:23,960 Speaker 1: was owed to him. Some other dude was standing next 392 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 1: to Dana. Dana whispered in the dude's ear as Will 393 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:29,119 Speaker 1: tried not to trip all over the flow of his freestyle. 394 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:32,280 Speaker 1: Will attempted to get Charlie's attention with a quick glance, 395 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:35,480 Speaker 1: but Charlie only had eyes for Mimi. Dana motioned to 396 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:37,760 Speaker 1: the door of the studio booth, and the other man 397 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 1: walked forward, opened the door, and stepped inside. Will kept rhyming, 398 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:44,840 Speaker 1: all the while wondering how many more seconds would passed 399 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:47,720 Speaker 1: until he was a stone cold gonner. As Dana and 400 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:51,320 Speaker 1: the other man made their presence known, Charlie finally noticed 401 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:54,680 Speaker 1: Will wrapped up his freestyle. The audience on the other 402 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:57,320 Speaker 1: side of the glass began to applaud. The guy with 403 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:00,840 Speaker 1: Dana had heard enough. In his mind, they all cheering 404 00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:04,199 Speaker 1: for the wrong person. Y'all need to thank Dana goodman, 405 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:08,560 Speaker 1: he said. The words jolted Will. He didn't expect to 406 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:11,240 Speaker 1: see Dana Goodman ever again, at least not like this. 407 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 1: Charlie in turn told the other guy to cool it. 408 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:16,879 Speaker 1: Will was in his element. He stepped back and let 409 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:20,160 Speaker 1: him do his thing, the whole thing here on Mimi show, 410 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:23,640 Speaker 1: right now. This was all about Will, wasn't about anybody else. 411 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,159 Speaker 1: And the guy didn't agree. He repeated himself, y'all need 412 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:30,120 Speaker 1: to thank Dana Goodman, he said. He put a hand 413 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:33,320 Speaker 1: up and we touched Charlie's chest. He pushed Charlie back. 414 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:38,240 Speaker 1: Wrong fucking move. Charlie sprang into action, right hand up, 415 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:41,040 Speaker 1: fast and hard, right hand swinging just like that, and 416 00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 1: his fist ran smack into the dude's head. Dude's face exploded, 417 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:48,760 Speaker 1: the blood splattering all over the studio. He fell over 418 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:51,080 Speaker 1: into a rack of radio cassette tapes and hit the floor. 419 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:55,200 Speaker 1: Goodman ran, Mimi was ushered away by station security. Charlie 420 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,600 Speaker 1: grabbed Will. They had to leave now out the back 421 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:02,440 Speaker 1: parking lot. But wait, Dana Goodman was out there somewhere. 422 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:05,399 Speaker 1: What if he was waiting for them. Will and Charlie 423 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:08,680 Speaker 1: had no choice outside They were relieved that Dana was 424 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:11,600 Speaker 1: nowhere to be found, but there was a security officer 425 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:14,600 Speaker 1: who stood blocking Will in Charlie's car from leaving, and 426 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:19,240 Speaker 1: then there were the cops, two cars in total, guns drawn, 427 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:23,680 Speaker 1: cuffs out Will Smith and Charlie Mack sent to jail, 428 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:29,399 Speaker 1: out of the limelight, in into the darkness. And in 429 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 1: that darkness, Will balked at the nauseating plate of rice 430 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:35,440 Speaker 1: and beans. He was tossed by a guard looked like 431 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:37,760 Speaker 1: a bet of maggots with stale cornbread and a cart 432 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:40,920 Speaker 1: and that spoiled milk to wash it down. In that darkness, 433 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:46,240 Speaker 1: he learned the charges aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, simple assault, 434 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:50,560 Speaker 1: and recklessly endangering another person, one knockout after the next. 435 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:54,159 Speaker 1: In that darkness, JL told him over the phone what 436 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:57,160 Speaker 1: he had to do. Pay the guy's medical bills. Pay 437 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:00,720 Speaker 1: those bills, and that's one step toward forgiveness. That's one 438 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:05,560 Speaker 1: step toward getting those criminal charges dropped. Will agreed. He 439 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:08,560 Speaker 1: gave j L the go ahead. The guy that Charlie 440 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,560 Speaker 1: mac assaulted was a record promoter. His left eye orbit 441 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:15,000 Speaker 1: the socket was fractured. He needed six stitches and he 442 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:18,200 Speaker 1: was nearly blinded by the assault. At first, he wasn't 443 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:21,440 Speaker 1: accepting Will Smith's hospital bill payoff pennance for once he 444 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:23,960 Speaker 1: realized it was better than any other option on the table. 445 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:28,959 Speaker 1: He accepted, and he dropped the charges out from behind bars. 446 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:31,680 Speaker 1: Will Smith vowed to change his life for the better, 447 00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:35,680 Speaker 1: and that meant leaving Philadelphia for good, breaking ties with 448 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:39,200 Speaker 1: the Junior Black Mafia. That meant not saying no when 449 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:42,000 Speaker 1: Quincy Jones asked Will to audition on the spot at 450 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:44,480 Speaker 1: a mansion party in Los Angeles for a new TV 451 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:47,760 Speaker 1: show he was producing, and then saying yes to the 452 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:50,359 Speaker 1: role of a lifetime as the star of The Fresh 453 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: Prince of bel Air, the sitcom that made Will Smith 454 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:56,879 Speaker 1: a household name, the gig that gave him access to 455 00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:01,560 Speaker 1: a career in blockbuster films, films like Boys, Independence Day, 456 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,320 Speaker 1: Men in Black, Enemy of the State, and those were 457 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:07,920 Speaker 1: just from the nineties alone. He also got another shot 458 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,359 Speaker 1: at love. Jada Karim Pinkett was easy to be around, 459 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:15,240 Speaker 1: easy to open up to, no judgment, no malice. It 460 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:18,560 Speaker 1: was all love from the start. Love that created two 461 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:22,160 Speaker 1: of Will's three children, Love that even withstood their separation 462 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,879 Speaker 1: when in twenty fifteen, marriage met new lovers on the 463 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:29,119 Speaker 1: side instead of leaving each other's side, when the so 464 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:32,960 Speaker 1: called entanglements of their separation would put on blast. Five 465 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:36,760 Speaker 1: years later, after they had reunited, will Smith moved forward. 466 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:39,480 Speaker 1: He didn't flinch and to share truth with his wife. 467 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,480 Speaker 1: But that truth was now the laughing stock of the public. 468 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:46,320 Speaker 1: It was a meme, the hot topic of nearly every 469 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:50,200 Speaker 1: daytime talk show. The sting was familiar. It was the 470 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:53,560 Speaker 1: same sting Will felt years ago, back when his peers 471 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:56,720 Speaker 1: and critics called his rhymes. Corny said that he was 472 00:27:56,840 --> 00:27:59,840 Speaker 1: just some goofball parody, not an actual rapper. Did they 473 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:03,119 Speaker 1: the title of that record, Jeff was the DJ and 474 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,320 Speaker 1: he was the rapper, motherfucker. He felt the sting again, 475 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:09,000 Speaker 1: and they said he wasn't a real actor, that despite 476 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:11,480 Speaker 1: his big dramatic turns and films like Ali and The 477 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:14,880 Speaker 1: Pursuit of Happiness, he was just some dumb blockbuster action 478 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:17,560 Speaker 1: star who needed to stay in his lane. And that 479 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:21,680 Speaker 1: sting never went away. That sting called attention to bullshit. 480 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:25,720 Speaker 1: Why did everyone love bullshit? The attention should be on 481 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:29,240 Speaker 1: the good shit, how he loved, how he lived, how 482 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:33,920 Speaker 1: he acted. By Awards season in twenty twenty two, will 483 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,560 Speaker 1: Smith wanted the attention to be on his performance as 484 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:41,040 Speaker 1: Richard Williams and King Richard, not on his marriage and 485 00:28:41,280 --> 00:29:00,760 Speaker 1: not on his wife. It happened, and at the moment 486 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:03,120 Speaker 1: that Will Smith felt like he was on top of 487 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:07,000 Speaker 1: the world, that old standoff with Dana Goodman from thirty 488 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:11,280 Speaker 1: three years earlier came rushing back. Chris Rock might have 489 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:13,719 Speaker 1: been a lank yar too, Theia version of Dana Goodman, 490 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:16,480 Speaker 1: but the men were one and the same, a couple 491 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:20,320 Speaker 1: of shit talkers. There Chris stood dressed in a dark 492 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:23,840 Speaker 1: blue velvet tuxedo, grinning from year to year. He had 493 00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:26,400 Speaker 1: an award to hand out, but not before he got 494 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:29,960 Speaker 1: off a few jokes. First. Will Smith was the talk 495 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:33,240 Speaker 1: of the night before anything happened. That best actor, Oscar 496 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:35,720 Speaker 1: was his so it was only natural if he was 497 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:39,160 Speaker 1: on Chris Rock's mind. But Chris wasn't joking about Will. 498 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 1: Chris was joking about Will's wife, Jada, sitting next to him, 499 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:48,120 Speaker 1: showing off her bald head and the result of her alopecia. Jada, 500 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:51,520 Speaker 1: I love you, Chris said, Gi Jane too. Can't wait 501 00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:55,520 Speaker 1: to see it all right, Gi Jane. Demi Moore wasn't 502 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,040 Speaker 1: in the room. The reference was outdated. It was a 503 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:02,480 Speaker 1: cheap shot, didn't matter. The audience roared. Will chuckled the 504 00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:06,200 Speaker 1: mask of frustration from the cameras. Jada grimaced, rolling her 505 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:08,520 Speaker 1: eyes back into her skull and clasping her hands to 506 00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:12,440 Speaker 1: contain her embarrassment. Will try to hold it in. He'd 507 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:14,760 Speaker 1: been holding it in for too long, holding it in 508 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:18,960 Speaker 1: for years. No more. He stood from his seat. He 509 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:22,000 Speaker 1: made a quick and confident stride to the stage. It 510 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:29,040 Speaker 1: happened fast, It happened swift, and it happened hard. The 511 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:32,080 Speaker 1: audience at Adobe Theater cheered, thinking that the slap was 512 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:35,280 Speaker 1: all in good humor, maybe even scripted, because Will Smith 513 00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 1: wouldn't dare to go off script or, so they thought. 514 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:40,480 Speaker 1: Chris Rock was knocked back by the force of Will's 515 00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:43,280 Speaker 1: open hand. He adjusted himself to face the reality of 516 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,840 Speaker 1: what happened. Will Smith just slapped the shit out of me. 517 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:50,560 Speaker 1: More cheers, another round of laughter. But Will's next remark 518 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:52,960 Speaker 1: would be the most unexpected of the night. It would 519 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:55,480 Speaker 1: be even more memorable than the speech he delivered when 520 00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:57,920 Speaker 1: just a short time later he accepted his award for 521 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:02,480 Speaker 1: Best Actor. My wife's name out of your fucking mouth, 522 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:07,400 Speaker 1: the auditorium gasped. Will repeated the message once more, for 523 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,920 Speaker 1: good measure, keep my wife's name out of your fucking mom, 524 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:16,160 Speaker 1: and that, as Chris Rock himself said, was the greatest 525 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:20,400 Speaker 1: night in the history of television. The statement Will Smith 526 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:23,200 Speaker 1: made after the shocking incident still reads more like a 527 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:26,000 Speaker 1: message to the world, and just to Chris Rock. It 528 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:28,400 Speaker 1: was a nod to Will's past, to the kid who 529 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:31,160 Speaker 1: cracked Will on his head back at over Bookai, to 530 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:34,360 Speaker 1: the irs for going deep in his pockets, to Dana 531 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:37,440 Speaker 1: Goodman and the record promoter for fucking with him, Daddyo 532 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:40,960 Speaker 1: for assaulting Mom, to all the pains that never left. 533 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:44,120 Speaker 1: Will wasn't able to come to my mom's defense, but 534 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:47,120 Speaker 1: he promised that Jada would never feel alone, and he 535 00:31:47,160 --> 00:31:49,360 Speaker 1: would keep that promise if it meant doing what he 536 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:51,560 Speaker 1: had to do in order to protect what he loved. 537 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:54,920 Speaker 1: He would be a man her man. But part of 538 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:57,680 Speaker 1: being a man is being able to keep your emotions 539 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:00,160 Speaker 1: in check. Part of being a man is an not 540 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,560 Speaker 1: losing control. Part of being a man is being able 541 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 1: to pull some punches even when life keeps throwing them 542 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:13,360 Speaker 1: your way. I'm Jake Brennan and this is hollywood Land. 543 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:30,040 Speaker 1: Hollywood Land was created by Years Truly and is produced 544 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:33,920 Speaker 1: in partnership with Double Elvis, follow, like, rate, and review 545 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:36,200 Speaker 1: hollywood Land wherever you get your podcasts, and get in 546 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 1: touch with us on social media at double Elvis. If 547 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:41,440 Speaker 1: you like hollywood Land, check out my other show, the 548 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:44,520 Speaker 1: award winning Disgraceland, which looks at the world of music 549 00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:47,080 Speaker 1: through the lens of true crime. Just search for Disgraceland 550 00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:55,520 Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts. Good God, Al