It’s been two years since the “slap heard round the world,” but the fallout continues for Will Smith– this time as his and wife Jada’s charitable foundation, the Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation, appears to be shutting down due largely to a drastic drop in donations following the 2022 altercation with Chris Rock.
An in-depth report by Variety found that tax records show that the organization’s revenue (which was funded largely by celebrity and corporate donors such as American Airlines and CAA) plummeted from $1,760,000 in 2020 and $2,138,660 in 2021 to $365,870 in 2022. As of 2022, the foundation did not employ any paid staff members. Publicly available financial records also show that the foundation had incurred over $3400 in bank overdraft fees in 2022. (All data was found in a ProPublica report, which is available to the public on their website.)
The foundation’s last social media posts were made on Instagram and Facebook in December of 2022.
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The organization had also come under scrutiny for their significant donations to two smaller unknown charitable organizations- Rebecoming and World Rebirth Foundation, neither of which appears to have been an active organization for at least two years. (Other donations went to Big Brothers Big Sisters, the American Film Institute, and other well-known reputable charitable organizations.)
The only two major donors in 2022 came from an entity called “the WJS Trust” for $200,000 and Westbrook Media for $165,870.
As of Tuesday, neither Will nor Jada had made a public comment regarding the situation. Will, however, promoted his upcoming installment in the Bad Boys Franchise series (which is due for release in June).
According to the foundation’s website, “the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation was founded in 1996 with the goal of making the world “better because we touched it.” Since then, WJSFF has invested millions of dollars and invaluable resources to accelerate the growth of initiatives that focus on deepening individual and collective empowerment.”