J Balvin linked to Will Smith’s ‘Pain’ after infamous slap

when it was planning his alien-themed Coachella set earlier this year, J Balvin knew exactly who he wanted to bring onstage: Will Smith. In an interview with Rolling Stone On Tuesday, the Colombian musician revealed why he felt very “connected” to the actor, as they both went through intense criticism around the same time in 2022.

“Will Smith has always been one of my biggest idols. Period. I feel really connected to him. You cannot judge a person for some mistakes,” he said Rolling Stonereferring to the backlash Smith faced for slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. “One mistake can’t define who you are because if it does, we’re all bad.”

“(With) what happened with Will Smith, I felt his pain because I was going through a similar situation where I felt part of the world was against me for mistakes,” he added.

Smith’s slapping incident led to a 10-year ban from the Academy and intense public scrutiny. At the same time, Balvin was criticized for his controversial music video with Tokischa, “Perra,” and was also going through a public feud with rapper Residente.

“I think if there’s anyone who’s publicly gone through the dark and the light right now, it’s Will Smith,” he said. “My inner child was screaming to have him on my show because there was no one better than him.”

During Balvin’s film, Smith – with a character like his own Men in Black character, Agent J — made a surprise cameo surrounded by Balvin’s dancers, who were dressed as bright green aliens. Smith took the stage to rap the theme song from the iconic film. Balvin says getting Smith to join him on set still took some convincing.

“I told him my vision. He said, “Give me a week.” And I just kept pushing, man,” he said. “I kept sending him pictures of me praying until he called and said he was down and it was a nice moment to see us together, man.”

“You can never forget that. And I’m happy right now for his new season,” he said. “As I have a new season, he has his new season and I welcome that.”

Balvin released his comeback album Rayo on Friday, as Smith returned to his role in the Bad boys for a named sequel Ride or die. He also released a few singles this year from an upcoming album called Dance in your darkest moments.