Will Smith Pays For Fourth Of July Fireworks Celebration In New Orleans
By Sarah Tate
July 7, 2021
If you saw the fireworks show in New Orleans on Sunday (July 4), you can thank The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air himself.
Will Smith is currently in New Orleans for a new film when he learned that the city didn't plan a Fourth of July fireworks celebration. Rather than accept the lack of a show, the Independence Day star took matters into his own hands and chose to pay for it himself.
After the city had to cancel last year's celebration due to the pandemic, residents were looking forward to celebrating. However, a lack of funds put the event in jeopardy, Deadline reports. The Gemini Man actor stepped in, reportedly paying $100,000 to make sure the show could go on.
Prior to the show, Mayor LaToya Cantrell thanked Smith's efforts to give the city the celebration it desperately craved after the tough year.
"The gift of city fireworks was made possible by actor and producer Will Smith, along with his company Westbrook," Mayor Cantrell said in a tweet Friday (July 2).
A fireworks display produced by "Go 4th on the River" will take place in New Orleans along the Mississippi Riverfront at 9pm Sunday, July 4, 2021🎆🎉
— Mayor LaToya Cantrell (@mayorcantrell) July 2, 2021
The gift of city fireworks was made possible by actor and producer Will Smith, along with his company Westbrook👏⚜️ pic.twitter.com/oWI8b8YOap
Smith is in New Orleans filming his new movie Emancipation, based on the true story of a runaway slave whose heavily-scarred back help expose the brutality of slavery, per AP. The film was originally planning to shoot in Georgia, but after the state passed a law that many saw as voter suppression, Smith and director Antoine Fuqua moved production to New Orleans.