5 days ago
Will Smith accused of having a 'midlife crisis' as fans mock him over cringe freestyle rap video
Will Smith has been mercilessly mocked online after he restarted his rap career following a string of career woes.
Most of the backlash has been fueled by a freestyle Smith, 56, did for Lyrical Lemonade back in late March.
The freestyle recently went viral on social media, with one popular meme account calling it, 'The definition of a midlife crisis.'
'Man's 56 years old. This is a 3/4 life crisis,' wrote another social media user.
A third commented, 'It's not horrible, it's just dated. I grew up with Will Smith and he needs to realize he's reach uncle status and should embrace it.'
The Men In Black star has also been targeted by a large number of popular YouTubers, who have analyzed his career decline in various videos over the last few months.
'Is Will Smith's career broken?' asked Captain Midnight in a video with over 420,000 views.
'Will Smith is embarrassing himself again,' wrote YouTube comedian Lewis Spears, while Matty Ballz shared a video titled, 'The total collapse of Will Smith's career.'
Despite the backlash, Smith has also received a lot of support from longtime fans.
'Never a midlife crisis doing what you love and grew up doing,' commented one.
'I'm not going to hate. He's accomplished everything so let him bounce back to his roots for a little while,' wrote another.
The actor divided fans back in June when he released the music video for his song Pretty Girls.
The track, which was lifted from his comeback album Based on a True Story, saw the father-of-three rapping about his love of beautiful women.
'It's a full house, better play your cards right / I'ma post your pic if you pose / Make one phone call, you in Vogue / Head, shoulders, knees, toes / Hold up, wait, pose,' reads the lyrics.
'I like BBLs / That stand for "Bad b**ches link up" / Poppin in the club all night in the section / Picture perfect, I swear you perfection.'
The song drew a mixed reception online, with one person writing, 'My ears bleeding again good god.'
Another commented, 'Somebody stop him, please!' while a third added, 'Need the ghost of Quincy Jones to slap him.'
Others said that the song was 'corny' and that it was time for Smith to give up on his hip-hop career.
However, others were more complimentary, with one fan gushing, 'This brought a much needed smile to my face. I love the fact that I still get happy when I see Will happy.'
Another wrote, 'A song about women that doesn't feel degrading. Good stuff!'
The new single comes after Smith made his long-awaited return to music with Based on a True Story - his first album in 20 years.
Released on March 28, the project reunited the actor with longtime collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff and featured contributions from Teyana Taylor and his son Jaden Smith.
He released five singles from the album, including Beautiful Scars with rapper Big Sean.
Alongside the album, Smith also announced an accompanying tour - but he left fans baffled thanks to the unusual locations for his first ever tour in the UK and Europe.
Despite a large promotional push behind the record, Based On a True Story became Smith's first album to miss the charts entirely.
Smith has faced controversy in recent years, most notably when slapping comedian Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards in March 2022.
Rock was presenting the Oscar for Best Documentary at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood when he joked about Will's wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head.
He compared her to the shaved head look of Demi Moore in the 1997 movie G.I. Jane - and Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia, did not laugh at the joke.
Smith approached the stage and slapped Rock across the face with his right hand.
Rock responded by telling the shocked audience: 'Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me.'
That same evening, Smith won the Best Actor award for his performance in King Richard as Richard Williams, the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams.
His marriage has also been in the headlines recently; in October, Pinkett Smith revealed that though she and Smith have been secretly separated, they had no plans to divorce.
