will smith netflix© Photo: Netflix

Netflix viewers point out 'eerie foreshadowing' in Will Smith interview recorded before Oscars slap

The actor spoke about a vision he had about losing his career two months before the infamous incident

TV & Film Writer
May 21, 2022

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.

MORE: Chris Rock receives major offer from Oscars following Will Smith slap

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".

WATCH: Will Smith apologises to the Academy after slapping Chris Rock

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".

MORE: How celebrities reacted to Will Smith's shocking Chris Rock altercation

MORE: Oscars host Amy Schumer reveals why Chris Rock didn’t leave stage after Will Smith slap 

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."

will smith netflix iv© Photo: Netflix

Will 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 Images

The 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 Images

Will 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."

MORE: Will Smith is all smiles in Mumbai as he is pictured for first time since Oscars slap

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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