Less than a year after the scandal caused by Will Smith’s slap at the Oscars, Apple announced on Monday that it will release a new movie “Emancipation” in December, starring the actor, AFP reported.

Hollywood professionals have bet on delaying the historic slavery film because of the scandal Smith caused when he slapped Oscar host comedian Chris Rock last March. A widely condemned blunder that earned him a 10-year ban from the ceremony.

Despite the controversy, Apple will release Emancipation in U.S. theaters on Dec. 2 and on its Apple TV+ streaming platform the following week.

The timing allows the company to nominate a film at the upcoming Oscars, just after becoming the first streaming platform to win Best Picture at the last feature film ceremony, CODA.

Smith has been silent since the last Academy Awards, when he won best actor for The Williams Method moments after he slapped Chris Rock for mocking his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia.

The former “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” publicly apologized shortly after the incident. In July, he also posted a video on social media proposing a date with the comedian.

The 54-year-old actor left the Academy Awards ceremony. The Academy banned him from the ceremony for 10 years, but there is no reason why he should not be nominated for the competition. “Oscar” for the best male role was not taken away from him, despite the scandal.

In Emancipation, he plays a fugitive slave in the swamps of Louisiana who hopes to reach the North Country, which meant freedom for African Americans in 19th century America.

The film was directed by Antoine Fuqua, whose 2001 film “Training Day” earned Denzel Washington the Academy Award for Best Actor.

“Emancipation” was originally supposed to be filmed in Georgia, but production was moved to Louisiana after the southern state passed a controversial law that several non-governmental organizations said was aimed at preventing African-Americans from voting.