Will Smith on 'Emancipation' boycott: 'I would respect that'

Will Smith opened up on his upcoming film Emancipation boycott by adding he understands why they did not want to see the film.

Per HuffPost, the Oscar winner, in an interview with film critic Kevin McCarthy told, "I completely understand that if someone is not ready, I would absolutely respect that and allow them their space to not be ready."

The Suicide Squad actor wished the Oscar slap reaction would not dampen the film's success chances or the award opportunities for the other people who worked on the film.

"My deepest concern is my team — [director Antoine Fuqua] has done what I think is the greatest work of his entire career," Smith said.

"I'm hoping that the material, the power of the film, the timeliness of the story — I'm hoping that the good that can be done — will open people's hearts at a minimum to see and recognize and support the incredible artists in and around this film," he said.

Will Smith-starred Emancipation is an upcoming film generating Oscar buzz, loosely based on the life of an enslaved man named Gordon, whose photograph of scarred back in 1863 was used against slavery by abolitionists.