Will Smith Drops $100K On July 4th Fireworks Display In New Orleans
New Orleans was lit up this 4th of July, and it’s all thanks to Will Smith. The actor reportedly paid out of his own pocket to make sure that the annual fireworks display for the holiday took place.
According to TMZ, Smith is currently in New Orleans, Louisiana to film his upcoming moving Emancipation. When the actor heard that the city was cancelling the fireworks show due to limited funding, he offered to foot the bill himself. Evidently, he was particularly moved by the caused given that NOLA had to cancel their fireworks and other 4th of July festivities last year due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
In total, the Pursuit of Happiness alum reportedly spent a cool $100,000 on the fireworks show with the help of his production company, Westbrook.
New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell took to Twitter to thank Smith for his generosity. She shared an old photo of a fireworks display to confirm it would be held once again on July 4th at 9pm along the Mississippi River. Mayor Cantrell said the show was “made possible” by Smith and his company.
At this time, it is unclear when Smith’s new movie is set to release. Reports say that Emancipation will tell the story of a Black slave as he escapes a Louisiana plantation and goes on to fight for the Union in the Civil War. The film is being directed by Antoine Fuqua and produced by Apple Studios.
According to CP24, the movie was originally scheduled to film in Georgia. However, Smith and his team decided to move production to Louisiana after Georgia passed a controversial voting law, which has been met with a federal lawsuit accusing it of trying to prevent Black voters from having equal ballot access.
Although $100,000 may seem like a huge price tag for a pyrotechnic display, it fails to even come close to being the most expensive fireworks show this year. Officials reportedly spent almost triple that price on the 4th of July fireworks display at Washington D.C.’s National Mall this year. Reports say the show cost the National Park Service a total of $278,500. Garden State Fireworks put on the show.
This was not even the most expensive fireworks show in recent history. TMZ notes that the same company was paid $270,000 in 2018 to put on a memorable 4th of July celebration. When Donald Trump was president in 2019, he was determined to make the event bigger than ever and coughed up a cool $320,000. The only question is how big America will go when the 4th of July rolls around next year.
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