E-Paper
Will Smith bows out of Oscars as war erupts
Will Smith became the first Hollywood celebrity to pull out of this year's Oscars, saying he would feel uneasy appearing at the celebratory event.
Will Smith, who was to have presented an example of the cinema industry's most prestigious honour at Sunday's ceremony made his decision not to go the event after US forces launched attacks on Iraq on Thursday. "He has respectfully asked not to be a part of the programme," the Oscar-nominated star's publicist Stan Rosenfield told AFP.
"He is not boycotting or anything, he just does not feel comfortable being there," he added. Smith, 34, and his wife Jada are usually crowd favourites at Hollywood's awards shows. The former rap star, is the star of films such as 2001 hit Ali, for which he won a best actor Oscar nomination – as well as the blockbuster Men in Black movies and Independence Day.
Smith is so far the only major star to announce that he would not turn up at the traditionally glitzy event which has this year been dramatically modified to reflect the fact that the United States is at war with Iraq.
