Can Will Smith return to Oscars with ‘Emancipation’?

Will Smith is making headlines again after his movie Emancipation earned praises from film critics at a special screening.

However, the King Richard actor’s fans wonder whether he would be nominated for Academy Awards after he was banned from attending the ceremony post Chris Rock slapgate.

Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences after he smacked Rock on stage for cracking a joke on his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

The actor was eventually banned from attending Oscars for ten years, however, it has now been claimed that he might receive a nomination in 2023 Oscars.

"Although Will Smith resigned from the Academy and has been banned from attending the Oscar ceremony for the next 10 years, he is still technically eligible to be nominated and even win another award," Entertainment Weekly Awards Correspondent Dave Karger told People Magazine.

Karger went on to add that "could feasibly be a nominee again" at the prestigious ceremony but “he wouldn't be able to accept the award in person if he were to win.”