Zimbabwe’s Charmaine Bingwa Plays Will Smith’s Wife In New Film ‘Emancipation’ As He Eyes Comeback Post Chris Rock Slap
Zimbabwe-Australian actress Charmaine Bingwa is part of the cast of the slavery thriller Emancipation which will also star Will Smith in the main role.
In the movie, Smith plays Peter, a man who escapes from slavery while Bingwa plays the role of Peter’s wife Dodienne.
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This is Smith’s first major release after he slapped Oscar Awards host Chris Rock, who had made a joke about Smith’s wife on stage, at the awards ceremony in March. Emancipation will be released in cinemas on 2 December before being made available for streaming on Apple TV+ a week later making it eligible for the Oscar Awards.
Although Will Smith he was banned for ten years it does not preclude him from being nominated for his work. However, Smith also resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, saying he had “betrayed” its trust.
The announcement that Emancipation will be released this year follows rumour that Apple had delayed it to 2023 after Smith’s infamous slap. At the time, Apple had declined to comment on its plans for the film.
Emancipation is based on the true story of “Whipped Peter”, who joined the Union Army in the 1860s after escaping from slavery in Louisiana.
Charmaine Bingwa Emancipation
Will Smith x Charmaine Bingwa (Image Credit: Will Smith & Charmaine Bingwa on Instagram)
Photos of his scars from a whipping, taken during a medical examination, were published and became a damning indictment of slavery.
Including Will Smith’s win for his last film, King Richard, this year’s Oscars saw Apple become the first streaming service to win best picture, with Coda.
Emancipation was directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by William N. Collage, The film had its first public screening in Washington on Saturday night, during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 51st Annual Legislative Conference.-iharare
