Will Smith It is Jada Pinkett Smith are closing their charitable foundation due, at least in part, to the fallout from Will’s infamous Oscar slap.
The A-list spouses are closing the Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation amid a significant drop in donations, according to Variety … which claims the foundation’s tax records show major donors — like CAA and American Airlines — were bailed out after Will slapped Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars.
Apparently, the foundation went from raising more than $2 million in 2021 to less than $400,000 in 2022.
The closure now may just be due to Will’s incident… as Variety says the Smiths were planning to close the foundation before the Oscar drama because they wanted to focus on making private charitable donations.
Also worth noting are some surprising financial transactions for the foundation… it reportedly had $3,000 in overdraft fees, more than $25,000 donated to apparently defunct mental health organizations, and no paid employees as of 2022.
Interestingly, as the foundation closes… Will’s career appears to have weathered the storm of backlash. He currently has at least four active projects in pre-production, including the highly anticipated “I Am Legend” sequel, and is reuniting with Martin Lawrence for the fourth “Bad Boys” film, due out this summer.
As for the Smiths personally — last year, while promoting her memoir, Jada said she and Will were on the road to reconciliation after years of leading separate lives and even living in separate homes.
Soooo… bad news, good news?