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Will Smith found himself needing a helping hand from his 29-year-old son Trey as they caught a tarantula while at home in Southern California in a clip shared to Will’s Instagram account Saturday as he waded back into the social media waters following the infamous Academy Awards slap in March.
Smith, 53, sounded terrified as he filmed his oldest child capturing the massive spider underneath a glass bowl in a post captioned, “Posting this from a Holiday Inn.”
“What the whole h–l. That is a big a– spider,” Smith said before his son reassured him, “That’s a tarantula.”
The Academy Award-winning actor only recently returned to the platform after taking a hiatus from social media following the March broadcast of the Oscars during which he walked on stage and slapped Chris Rock during the live telecast. Rock had just finished telling a joke aimed at Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Will Smith makes return to social media in video capturing a tarantula with son Trey (pictured right in 2020.)
(Getty Images)
Smith and Trey, who he shares co-parenting responsibilities with his ex-wife, Sheree Zampino, battled back and forth between who should truly take responsibility for catching the spider.
“I’m on a chair,” Smith said in the video. “Alright Trey, you gotta get that out of here. Come on.”
Smith added: “You’re young and strong. You can handle the bite.”
Trey turned to the camera stunned, but acted without fear and caught the eight-legged creature underneath a glass bowl. Smith then tried to slide a piece of paper underneath, so they could move the spider outside.
“We’re taking turns,” he assured his son. “We’re a team … OK, he is fast.”
Their late-night adventure wasn’t quite over and Smith was done with trying to move the tarantula out as he said, “I don’t like it at all. We’re selling the house.”
Will was married to Trey’s mother, “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Sheree Zampino, for three years before they divorced in 1995.
The “Bad Boys” star has largely stayed out of the public since the Oscars incident in March where he hit stormed the stage and hit Rock after the comedian joked about Jada’s bald head in a reference to “G.I. Jane.” Pinkett Smith had previously discussed her struggles with alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss.
Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, Will Smith, Jaden Smith and Trey Smith attend the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party
(Rich Fury/VF22/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)
Shortly after the slap, Smith received the best actor award for his work in “King Richard.”
Following the ordeal, Smith announced his resignation from the Academy in a statement provided to Fox News Digital, saying he had “betrayed the trust of the Academy.” Smith was then banned from attending Oscars events and shows for 10 years.
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“I have directly responded to the academy’s disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct,” he said.
“My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful and inexcusable. The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance and global audiences at home. I betrayed the trust of the academy.”
Will Smith, right, hits presenter Chris Rock on stage while presenting the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
(Chris Pizzello)
In July, Smith filmed a YouTube video delving more into the event, where he revealed he has reached out to Rock to talk about the incident, but claimed the comedian is not ready to sit down with him. He also spent the five-minute-long video apologizing to Rock and others — including the comedians mother, Rose Rock.
For his part, Chris has used the slap has a talking point on his most recent “Ego Death World Tour,” and compared Smith to the former Death Row Records co-founder, Marion “Suge” Knight, who is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter in 2018 following a fatal confrontation in Los Angeles in 2015.
“Everybody is trying to be a f—ing victim,” Rock said, via People magazine. “If everybody claims to be a victim, then nobody will hear the real victims. Even me getting smacked by Suge Smith … I went to work the next day, I got kids.”
“Anyone who says words hurt, has never been punched in the face,” he added, words he’s echoed in a previous show while touring recently with Kevin Hart on “Only Headliners Allowed,” a show where Dave Chappelle also appeared.
