Will Smith Tests Positive for Coronavirus

Hollywood star Will Smith was planning on surprising an audience who had just watched his movie "Emancipation" but the plans got derailed after he ended up testing positive for Coronavirus.

He announced the diagnosis in a video posted on social media. 

The footage showed the actor, 54, taking a Covid test prior to the appearance, only to come out positive an hour later. 

Participants at screenings are often required to show negative results before they can attend an event.

The Oscar winner seemed to take the news well as he met with the audience via Zoom.

"I tested positive. I made them do it again and again, so I'm definitely positive," he explained.

"Emancipation" saw Smith taking on a tough role as an enslaved man named Peter who journeys through the swamps of Louisiana to find freedom and eventually returning to his family.

The movie is inspired by the 1863 photos of 'Whipped Peter', taken during a Union Army medical examination, that first appeared in Harper’s Weekly.

One photo, known as ‘The Scourged Back’, showed Peter’s bare back mutilated by a whipping delivered by his enslavers, ultimately contributing to growing public opposition to slavery. 

“Emancipation” marks Smith’s first movie since the acclaimed actor became the center of controversy after slapping Chris Rock at the 93rd Oscars in March where he slapped host Chris Rock for cracking a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. 

Smith apologized for his actions in a video posted online in June, he resigned from the Academy and has largely stayed out of the public eye since.