Will Smith hails ‘epic’ movie night with Rihanna, A$AP Rocky and Dave Chappelle

Mike Bedigan, PA Los Angeles Correspondent

Will Smith has hailed an “epic” night, after sharing his new film with famous faces including Rihanna, A$AP Rocky and comedian Dave Chappelle.

The actor is due to star in Apple TV+ drama Emancipation in December, marking his first big project since the now infamous Oscars slap.

Smith stormed the stage at the 94th Academy Awards in March and slapped comedian Chris Rock following a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

A post on his Instagram page showed the actor smiling at a screening of Emancipation, alongside Tyler Perry, Rihanna, ASAP Rocky and Chappelle.

“EPIC night!! Thanx for coming to see #Emancipation. Hope ya’ll enjoyed!!” he wrote, captioning the photo.

Comedian Chappelle is known to be good friends with Rock, and the pair have recently shared bills on tour, including several venues in the UK.

Chappelle himself was also subject to an onstage attack at the Hollywood Bowl venue in Los Angeles, shortly after the incident between Smith and Rock.

The two comedians have reportedly addressed the incidents in comedy routines, both separately and together, though Rock has yet to issue a direct public response to Smith.

The actor was banned from all Academy events or programmes for 10 years following his “unprecedented” behaviour at the ceremony.

He apologised to Rock over the infamous slap three months after the incident in a five-minute video posted on Instagram.

Smith’s film Emancipation sees him play a slave who flees a Louisiana plantation and embarks on a journey to reunite with his family.

Based on the true story of “whipped Peter” from 1863 who was taken during a Union Army medical examination, the film will debut on the streaming platform on December 9th.