Sure, Will Smith just agreed to get the worst rap in history and become a toxic brand for absolutely no discernable reason or anything benefitting him. Sure, makes perfect sense. As a rule of thumb kids, if there's no logical motivation, you're not "just asking questions", you're peddling a stupid conspiracy theory.

Motivation: Publicity. It worked better than anything. It dominated conversation for weeks. When we get to the big reveal, Will Smith will gain redemption by most of his fan base. It was suspicious that Chris Rock declined to press assault charges, and if he doesn't sue Smith, it would suggest the stunt was still being perpetuated. They ought to put his Oscar trophy in Pete Rose's display at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

I don’t find him not pressing charges suspicious at all. They’ve known each other for decades, and it was one hit rather than getting his ass beat or something. Think of it as bro code or black code or something. Regarding publicity, Will and Jada had been bleeding publicity out of their asses for months. They didn’t need anymore, and it’s not worth it. Will has already suffered getting future projects canceled or postponed (which I personally think is ****** up for all the production jobs lost from that, regardless of where you stand on the issue). For people screaming fake, I think that’s just weird. No party involved has anything to gain from this, and it’s a stupid distraction from all the shit that really matters in our burning real world.