Will Smith Gives Surprise Performance at ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ Premiere: Watch
Written by Rtradio on May 31, 2024
Will Smith is proving that he’s still got it!
On Thursday, the 55-year-old actor made his grand debut into the Los Angeles premiere of Bad Boys: Ride or Die atop a double-decker bus and immediately began interacting with fans by rapping “Miami” and introducing his fellow cast members from the film.
“My ride or die, Martin Lawrence,” the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star says in video taken by ET. The announcement came from the top of the bus where Smith was standing with a microphone and fans could be heard loudly cheering as he introduced Lawrence, 59, and others up on the top deck with him.
In clips posted to X (formerly Twitter) from the event, Smith can be seen pumping the crowd up with a call-and-response, engaging those outside the El Capitan Theater on Hollywood Boulevard by getting them to repeat the name of the movie.
“When I say bad, y’all say boys,” he shouted out repeatedly as the enthusiastic crowd obliged.
Before heading over to the carpet to grab photos with their family members and friends, Lawrence and Smith both walked the barricade where fans were waiting anxiously to get a photo or an autograph.
From there, the duo at the center of the new movie hit the blue carpet and posed for photos together — Smith in an all-black outfit with a dark sport coat and black T-shirt and Lawrence wearing a white button-up shirt, a velvet navy blazer and black slacks. They kept their sunglasses on to smile for the cameras.
Also in attendance at Thursday’s premiere were Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and his three children. The rapper actor is dad to Trey, 31, Jaden, 25, and Willow, 23. Trey is from a previous relationship with Sheree Zampino, while he shares Jaden and Willow with Pinkett Smith, 52.
Despite admitting that they have been through some serious ups and downs — including a major separation — Smith and his wife have made a point to continue to show up for each other and support the other’s career endeavors. Just last week, Pinkett Smith attended a Bad Boys: Ride or Die event in Dubai in support of her husband. For that event, the pair did not pose together, however.
In mid-May, ET spoke with the Hitch star about his upcoming film and he named his spouse of 26 years as one of the few people he would consider to be a “ride or die” in his life, along with friends like DJ Jazzy Jeff and Alfonso Ribiero.
“It’s funny, I was just talking about this, I have always been blessed that there has never been a time in my life when I didn’t look to the side and have a ride or die right there,” Smith told ET at the time, adding, “Jada is one of the most gangsta ride-or-die’s I’ve ever had.”
As for the film, Bad Boys: Ride or Die follows the tried-and-true formula kicked off in its first film: Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) pull all kinds of hijinks as hard-boiled detectives working for the Miami Police Department.
Smith says that fans who love the classic Mike and Marcus banter are in for some new surprises, as well as an exciting sequel overall.
“We took an aggressive shot with this movie, we tried to keep it exciting — we wanted to be [a] full-on popcorn movie but we wanted it to grow with the characters,” he said of the film. “Not try to make the 25-year-old version of the movie — no, these dudes make it be age-appropriate.”
The film also stars Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Nuñez, Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, Jacob Scipio, Melanie Liburd and Tasha Smith.
Watch the trailer for Bad Boys: Ride or Die in the player below:
Bad Boys: Ride or Die cruises into theaters on June 7.
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