Will Smith's episode of David Letterman's My Next Guest Needs No Introduction landed on Netflix on Friday - and viewers have been pointing out a moment of "eerie foreshadowing" in the interview, which was filmed before the now-infamous incident in which he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars.
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During the nearly hour-long chat with the former Late Show host, Will revealed that while under the effects of ayahuasca – an illegal herbal drink with hallucinogenic properties – he had a premonition that his career would be "destroyed".
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Although the Fresh Prince star said that he tried the plant-based psychedelic 14 times over the course of two years, he described one night after taking it as "the individual most hellish psychological experience of my life".
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He said: "I drank, and it usually takes about 45 minutes to kick in. And I'm sitting there and you always feel like, 'Maybe it won't kick in this time.' So I'm drinking and sitting there and then all of a sudden it's like I start seeing all of my money flying away, and my house is flying away and my career is going away."
© Photo: NetflixWill said he had a premonition that his career would be "destroyed".
He then described his panic as he saw his "whole life getting destroyed," which he described as his worst fear in life. At one point in his vision, he said he heard his daughter Willow calling out for help, which caused him to look at things differently.
"Then slowly, I stopped caring about my money, I just wanted to get to Willow," he explained. "I stopped caring about my house, I stopped caring about my career."
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe interview was filmed before the 2022 Academy Awards
After the drug's effects wore off, Will said that he was left realising "that anything that happens in my life, I can handle it". He added: "I can handle any person I lose, I can handle anything that goes wrong in my life, I can handle anything in my marriage. I can handle anything that this life has to offer me."
© Photo: Getty ImagesWill stormed the Oscars stage after Chris Rock poked fun at his wife
Fans were quick to point out just how strange Will's premonition was in the wake of the 2022 Academy Awards, which has resulted in him being banned from the awards for ten years and a number of his upcoming projects being axed.
One viewer said: "Wow. Just watched David Letterman's My Next Guest on @Netflix wth guest Will Smith taped before the Oscars. Very eerie foreshadowing."
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Another echoed this, writing: "The pre-Oscars Will Smith interview with Letterman on his Netflix series... kind of jaw-dropping. The ayahuasca story! Holy cow. Eerie." A third added: "The #WillSmith episode of Letterman really lands differently after the Oscar slap. A real struggle to watch."
The episode was shot back in January, two months before the incident with Chris, which came after the comedian likened the close-cropped haircut worn by Will's wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, to G.I. Jane.
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