Paramount Pictures, JoJo Siwa exit Will Smith backed film 'Bounce' after Oscars slap

Post actor Will Smith’s Oscars 2022 feud, the Academy Award winner has been receiving strong backlash. Post the incident, Paramount Pictures and reality TV star JoJo Siwa have pulled out their support for Smith’s backed movie adaptation of Bounce based on the YA book by Megan Shull.

This comes after giant streaming platform Netflix slowed down the development of Will Smith's upcoming action-thriller movie, Fast and Loose, after the actor's sensational altercation with Chris Rock at the Academy Awards 2022. Now, Paramount and JoJo have also halted the upcoming project resulting in great loss for the actor. 

Paramount Pictures, JoJo Siwa exit Will Smith's next project

According to Variety, during Siwa the GLAAD Media Awards on Saturday, Siwa spoke about the same and said that the project is now put on hold and is almost over now. A source close to the situation told Variety that the project had fallen apart months ago, and its demise is not related to Smith's ongoing slap controversy with comedian Chris Rock at this year's Academy Awards.

The film Bounce adaptation was first announced in the summer of 2020. The feature film was brought to the studio by Cobra Kai's producer Caleb Pinkett. Caleb's sister, Jada Pinkett Smith, with her husband Will Smith. A source familiar with the matter also told Variety that Pinkett Smith and her husband were not a part of the star cast but rather lent support to Caleb Pinkett.

For the unversed, it was earlier reported by TMZ that at least a couple of films signed by Will Smith as the lead actor, which were supposed to be in the works, have, for the time being, been suspended.

A few reports obtained by the outlet also revealed that another streaming giant Sony has also hit the pause on Smith's much-awaited project Bad Boys 4.

Meanwhile, The Oscars slap became a much-debated topic after the global event on March 27. Although Will Smith issued a statement wherein he apologised to the comedian, a source close to him revealed to Hollywood Life that he 'can't imagine forgiving' the actor. They also mentioned that Chris Rock did not want the incident to define him for the rest of his time in the industry.

Image: Instagram/alportal93rd/Twitter/Paramountpics