Will Smith apparently did a fart that stunk so badly that the Men in Black movie set had to be shut down.
Some would wear that fact as a badge of honor.
I'm sure most of us have had an experience in our lives where we've had to keep a fart stifled in an awkward situation.
I'm firmly in the "better out than in" camp but for whatever reason people are still horrified when your body does a natural function.
Having said that, I would be mortified if I shut the office down for three hours because of a stench from my body.
Will Smith has lived this nightmare, as confirmed by the director of Men in Black.
Barry Sonnenfeld shared a behind-the-scenes story from the filming of the iconic 1997 sci-fi movie with Kelly Ripa’s SiriusXM podcast Let’s Talk Off Camera.
Smith and co-star Tommy Lee Jones were filming a complex scene that required them to be "hermetically sealed" in a tight, confined space.
The scene involved the actors inside a vehicle that transforms into a hypercar and travels upside down through the Midtown Tunnel.
Just before the cameras rolled, Smith let out an accidental but potent fart.
“They have to be put in this device, which is [a car] that transforms into a hypercar, and [they’re] going to go through the Midtown Tunnel upside down,” Sonnenfeld explained.
“We get them up there, we put them in the thing, turn it upside down, and we’re ready to shoot.”
However, things quickly took a turn when Smith realized what had happened.
“I hear Will Smith go, ‘Oh, Jesus, so sorry. Tommy, so sorry. Baz, get the ladder,’” Sonnenfeld recalled. Meanwhile, Jones remained calm, reassuring his co-star. “‘That’s fine, Will. No worries, Will. Don’t worry, Will,’” Jones reportedly said.
The situation soon escalated as Sonnenfeld brought over a ladder to help the actors out of the sealed vehicle. Jones quickly exited, and the rest of the cast and crew followed suit, fleeing the overpowering smell.
Sonnenfeld described the impact of the mishap.
“What happened was, Will Smith is a farter. It’s just some people are, and you really don’t want to be inside a very small hermetically sealed space with a Will Smith fart,” he joked. “You don’t even want to be sitting next to him at the Disney ranch.”
The unintentional gaseous release was so intense that production had to be halted, with the set being cleared for three hours to air out.
“He’s a lovely guy, just he farts. Some do, some don’t,” Sonnenfeld added.
So the next time you let rip and people complain, you can tell them that you're following in Will Smith's footsteps.
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