Things haven’t been the same for Will Smith after he won Best Actor at this year’s Oscars. Not only did the internet explode after Smith slapped Chris Rock after his joke about his wife’s baldness, but so did his Q score. The numbers show that this Academy Award winner’s Q score had dropped ever since that scandalous incident, but his score wasn’t the only one that rocked.
It can take just one moment in an actor’s career that could make or break their reputation. Variety’s Intelligence Platform from Q Scores says that Smith’s numbers went downhill after the infamous slap directed at Chris Rock. Before the incident, Will Smith was considered one of the top 5 or 10 most positively rated actors in Q Scores’ semi-annual surveys which are done every January and July. This ranking placed him with well-liked actors like Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. But after the July polling which took place after the Oscars, Smith’s positive Q score dropped from 39 to 24, meaning that 24% count the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star as one of their favorite personalities. His negative rating doubled from less than 10 to 26 with the average negative score being 16 or 17.
What is the Q Score?
The Variety Intelligence Platform from Q Scores quantifies celebrities’ star power and appeal. In these semi-annual surveys, 1,800 U.S. consumers are polled from ages 6 and up. The higher the Q score in terms of positivity means the person is highly regarded. The higher the negative Q score, on the other hand, could signal the decline of a person’s reputation.
Another person who was affected by their Q score was also none other than Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, whose public image also declined in recent months. Her already low positivity score of 13 has now declined to six and her negativity rating rose from 29 to 44. Chris Rock, on the other hand, experienced no change in his rating since the Oscars slap. His positive and negative scores have been 20 and 14. His public awareness rating, though, lept from 66 to 84.
While Will Smith’s new score may not be the best for his career, it could be much worse. Golf pro Tiger Woods faced scrutiny after the 2009 infidelity scandal and according to The Golf Channel, his positive Q score went from a strong 44 to a 14 while his negative score soared to 49.
The King Richard star has had a hard time since that televised Oscar moment. He resigned from the Academy, two of his upcoming movies received setbacks and was punished by the Academy where he cannot attend any Oscar events or programs for ten years. He has since tried to make up for his wrongdoing. The day after the incident, he issued a formal apology to Chris Rock and broke the silence again recently with a video apology to Chris Rock for his actions. The standup comic reportedly is not ready to talk to the I, Robot star yet.
It is hard to know if the apology video has improved Smith’s Q scores as it can take an average of three years for a celebrity’s Q score to recover from a scandal. Executive VP of Q score Henry Schafer says it depends on a celebrity’s personality and how they decide to resurrect their career. For all we know, his score could change based on how he’s placed in the promotion of his upcoming AppleTV movie Emancipation which is currently in post-production and coming out possibly in 2023. It’ll be quite the journey to see what direction Will Smith’s career will go in.
