Fans think Charlize Theron’s “worst life experience” with Will Smith in “the worst movie of all time” was a warning about his Oscars slap scandal.

HIGHLIGHTS

 Charlize Theron called Will Smith a “complete freak in many things… especially with golf” during an interview with David Letterman.
 Theron shared that playing golf with Smith for a charity event was the “worst experience” of her life, as he was very competitive and ignored the ladies’ game.
 Despite their past differences, Theron later called Smith “inspiring” and praised his dedication and willingness to go anywhere to get the job done.

In 2022, Will Smith broke the internet when he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars stage after the latter joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s baldness caused by alopecia. Everyone was surprised by the actor’s action, which resulted in a 10-year ban from the Academy Awards. But twenty-three years ago, it seemed like Charlize Theron already knew of this side of Smith.

During an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, the Atomic Blonde actress scoffed when the host asked if the Hitch star was “great fun” to work with on their 2000 flop, The Legend of Bagger Vance. “It was the worst experience of my life,” she said of their time together.

Despite The View defending Smith from his wife these days as she continues to spill their shocking marriage issues, fans thought Theron “was right” all along about the former’s “freak” violent tendencies. Here’s what really happened between them.

Cher’s highly anticipated first interview with David Letterman got really awkward.

Charlize Theron Called Will Smith A “Complete Freak In Many Things” On Letterman

Theron didn’t hold back on exposing Smith’s being a “complete freak in many things… especially with golf” to Letterman. During the interview, she said that playing the sport with him for a charity was “the worst experience of my life.”

The Bombshell actress shared that the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was “very competitive,” which even made her “so mad” because the ladies’ game was ignored during the event. “We were mic-ed so I couldn’t tell him, ‘What the hell is wrong with you, idiot?'” Theron recalled.

“They got a walking message through that we were losing, and then they became real guys. Now, we gotta win,” she added. But days later, she said Smith “called me and apologized because he knew. I gave him that look.” She then demonstrated the glare she gave the King Richard star back then.

Will Smith received his first Best Actor Oscar for his performance in King Richard, in the same ceremony he’d slapped Chris Rock.

The audience applauded, with Letterman commenting, “I’m a little sensitive for that look.” Theron wrapped the story by revealing that Smith made “a quite brilliant excuse” for what he did. “He said he was dehydrated,” she recounted. In the YouTube clip’s comments, fans said it was a warning about the actor’s Oscars scandal. “Now it all makes sense about will smith,” one wrote.

Another netizen suggested: “Maybe someone should have done Mr. Smith a favor many years ago and slapped him and straightened him out a little. It is a shame, he is very talented, but his career now will probably always be tainted, and now how his persona from all those years before kind of comes off him being a phony.”

Will Smith turned down a major project that could’ve made him some serious cash.

Charlize Theron & Will Smith’s Movie ‘The Legend Of Bagger Vance’ Was A Flop

Aside from Theron’s “worst life experience” with Smith in The Legend of Bagger Vance, Sports Illustrated also called it “the worst movie of all time.” But the latter was optimistic about it at first. On how he landed the role, he said: “I ran into Steven Spielberg at a party, and I jokingly asked him why he never hired me for his movies. Steven said, ‘Oh, you’re too big for my movies.'”

The Focus actor continued: “I laughed it off. … But it clicked in my mind. The persona I created had become too big for the stories I want to tell. I had started to overshadow the characters I play. People see me on screen and go, ‘Oh, look, it’s Will Smith.'” Unfortunately, Bagger Vance wasn’t the right project to change that public perception.

“I thought Bagger Vance was a great opportunity for me to just turn it off. This is the first time in my career that I completely surrendered all my instincts and my natural desire to bend scenes into the Will Smith thing,” Smith explained. “It was a really scary place to be in.”

He added that it was “frightening to feel in a scene that this persona you’ve created is trying to crawl out, dying for you to do something or say something that is funny, something that will shake up a scene and say, ‘Hey, notice me!'” But since then, Smith went on to do more projects that showcased his range better. Here are his best movie performances, ranked by Variety:

Rank
Year
Movie
Role

#13
2007
I am Legend
Dr. Robert Neville

#12
2005
Hitch
Alex “Hitch” Hitchens

#11
1998
Enemy of the State
Robert Clayton Dean

#10
1995
Bad Boys
Mike Lowery

#9
1996
Independence Day

#8
1993
Six Degrees of Seperation
Paul

#7
2019
Aladdin
Genie

#6
1997
Men in Black
James Darrell Edwards III / Agent J

#5
2015
Concussion
Dr. Bennett Omalu

#4
2006
The Pursuit of Happyness
Chris Gardner

#3
2021
King Richard
Richard Williams

#2
2022
Emancipation
Peter

#1
2001
Ali
Cassius Clay Jr / Cassius X / Muhammad Ali

Charlize Theron has starred in a slew of successful movies but one of her biggest paydays came from a flop she was barely in.

Charlize Theron Called Will Smith “Inspiring” Years After Her “Worst Life Experience” With Him

In 2008, Theron and Smith reunited for Hancock. At that time, it seemed like the former’s opinion of her co-star had changed. “He is a rare breed,” she said in an e-mail interview. He is a phenomenal actor. He is incredibly smart and he is inspiring for me to be around.”

“What makes me fall madly in love with him is his willingness to go anywhere he needs to go to get what is needed,” Theron said of Smith.

She even said they had a “very interesting relationship” on and off-camera. “He could so easily just lean back but he shows up and works incredibly hard. We have a very interesting relationship,” she explained. In the same correspondence, the Mad Max: Fury Road star also remembered more fond memories with Smith in Bagger Vance.

“We really hit it off well. Along with Matt Damon, we all hit it off and had a great time making the film,” she said. “I didn’t get to work with Will that much on that film but we goofed around a lot on set. I wanted to tap more into the working relationship.”