"Hahaha, did you see her expression? It was hilarious."
After Charlize Theron finished her interviews with the Los Angeles Times and ABC, she immediately made a high-profile trip to Toronto to visit the set.
While telling Gilbert about the situation, Charlize Theron laughed uncontrollably.
Indeed, Jada Smith's recent behavior over the past few days was laughable.
Although a large number of media outlets still stubbornly insisted that Gilbert had done it, Gilbert's own media spokespeople and most neutral outlets no longer doubted him, instead beginning to question Jada Smith.
As TMZ's gossip site put it: "Look in the mirror and recognize yourself—you're not a goddess, no man would be interested in you."
The comments from netizens below were amusing: "Except for Will Smith…"
"Dude, Will Smith looks at beautiful women with far more affection than he looks at Jada Smith."
"Bold claim—I'm Will Smith, pure in love, never cheating."
After Charlize Theron stepped forward, Jada Smith again reluctantly accepted interviews, performing her lifetime's worth of acting skills and solemnly insisting that Gilbert had indeed assaulted her.
But this time, the reporters were not polite. One immediately stood up and said, "If this actually happened, we would support you in filing a lawsuit.
But the current question is, is there any evidence?"
Jada Smith's best friend immediately stepped forward: "I can testify. When I visited the Matrix set, I personally saw Jada Smith being dragged into a trailer and assaulted by Gilbert."
"Oh?" Another reporter asked, "May I ask when this happened? Is there any preserved biological evidence? Why didn't you report it at the time?"
"This?" The best friend looked a bit dumbfounded.
The press officer hosting the conference also felt something was off and knew this reporter couldn't continue, so he quickly asked the reporter to step outside.
But the next reporter not only repeated the previous questions but added another: "If such a thing really happened, why didn't you stop it at the time? Please answer."
Answer? The best friend panicked—this wasn't how the pre-interview media rehearsal went! Every question was so tricky; she didn't know how to respond.
So the best friend looked at Jada Smith, and Jada Smith didn't know what to do either.
The press officer rubbed his forehead. Dealing with these two fools was really unfortunate.
He had no choice but to try to patch the situation with the last question: "The reason no report was made at the time was due to fear of Gilbert's influence and possible retaliation. Miss Jenny also feared Gilbert's power, and only after repeated persuasion did she courageously step forward to speak."
In short, the goal was to portray Gilbert as powerful and evil, while Jada Smith played the victim to garner sympathy.
Between the strong and the weak, people often sympathize with the Weak. But the problem was, people weren't fools—without any evidence, these baseless accusations were hard to believe.
Originally, Gilbert's media and most neutral media already doubted the matter. Now, with no evidence presented, it was even more certain that it was false.
Moreover, Jada Smith's best friend Jenny's testimony was unreliable. Afraid at the time? Now not afraid? The reporters present raised this question.
The press conference ended awkwardly. Things did not develop as Jada Smith had envisioned. Except for media already biased in her favor, other outlets raised doubts one after another.
Yes, those behind the scheme had immense power, but even the most powerful cannot silence everyone.
Now, not even a few traditional media mouths could be shut, let alone the already reversed public opinion online.
Those who initially supported Jada Smith began to waver, and some even turned to attack her, seeking revenge for being misled.
The key now was that the only evidence was Jenny's personal testimony. According to the lawyers, biological evidence was lost due to the passage of too much time.
The time of the incident was unknown, roughly during the filming of The Matrix. The location was also unknown, just somewhere on a trailer at a Los Angeles set.
As for why it was unknown, Jada Smith suffered psychological trauma, so she couldn't remember. Jenny also happened not to check the calendar that day, so she didn't remember either.
Thus, Jada Smith's accusation was that at some unknown time and place during the filming of The Matrix, Gilbert assaulted her. Yet the only witness was her best friend, and the physical evidence was lost.
The lawyers planned to file the lawsuit in a New York court, applying pressure on the courts and Wall Street.
Then, a prosecutor stepped forward, stating he would serve as special prosecutor, investigate the case, and provide the public with a prompt result.
But the assault case had already reached a dead end.
Clearly, Gilbert was different from the Donald of the previous life. If Gilbert were forcibly convicted, the entire North American and Western society would erupt.
This was likely the nightmare for many of the powerful elites—they dreamed that the rule of law could be subverted by a baseless assault case with no evidence, convicting the famous director Gilbert.
Considering the consequences, the case effectively ended.
After Charlize Theron struck with full force, she visited Gilbert to ask about his next plan.
Gilbert asked her one question: "Did Jada Smith participate in The Matrix 1?"
Charlize Theron thought for a moment: "I don't know, I don't think so."
"Did I visit the Matrix 2 set?"
"Well," Charlize Theron recalled, "I don't think so either."
Gilbert shrugged: "Then that's it—I never went, so how could I have assaulted her? Do I have some sort of clone technique?"
"Exactly! Then I'll immediately go to the media and clarify this," Charlize Theron said excitedly.
Gilbert stopped her from getting carried away: "No, no, no. You can't do it—we need someone else to speak."
"Who should speak?"
"How about James Gunn and Keanu?"
"They'll speak on your behalf?"
"Of course…"
Gilbert immediately called James Gunn and Keanu Reeves, asking them for help.
Gilbert owed James Gunn a debt of gratitude—though they no longer worked together, Gunn still owed him a favor.
Keanu Reeves didn't need an explanation—he rose to top-tier stardom by starring in Gilbert's films. Moreover, Keanu's sister was receiving treatment at a medical center in Sacramento, arranged by Gilbert.
The two of them were already inclined to speak out, but Gilbert told them to remain patient and wait for the right moment, which was now ideal.
So when Will Smith announced his firm intention to seek justice for his wife and sue Gilbert, James Gunn and Keanu Reeves spoke up in quick succession.
James Gunn: "If I recall correctly, Ms. Jada Smith appeared in the second and third installments, both directed by me—not Gilbert."
Keanu Reeves: "Director Gilbert trusted James Gunn's work completely, so during the filming of The Matrix second and third installments, Gilbert never visited the set even once."
Now it was clear—awkwardly so, that Gilbert had never visited the sets of the subsequent films, and Jada Smith had not appeared in the first installment.
Thus, the high-profile assault case ended as a farce. Any further actions from Jada Smith were rendered impossible; she could only play dead.
Reporters even photographed Will Smith and Jada Smith hurriedly leaving with their son, outwardly claiming it was a vacation to heal trauma, but in reality, they were making a quick getaway.
The matter, however, was not entirely over. At Gilbert's suggestion, the Los Angeles Business Journal raised a question.
That question was: The Smiths should know Gilbert's position in Hollywood, so why would they still slander him and launch baseless accusations?
There had to be someone behind the scenes directing this—otherwise, they wouldn't be so bold.
North America has always been fertile ground for conspiracy theories, and sometimes they turn out to be true. Many seemingly absurd conspiracies are later verified, and this one was not even particularly absurd.
Even if the Los Angeles Business Journal did not mention it, the public would still suspect that there was some hidden truth.
Inside a New York club, Will Smith's former agent, Smith, was completely unable to get an erection amidst a sea of young, innocent girls.
He was currently being bombarded with criticism for his poor performance; their first battle against Gilbert had ended in failure, and he had to take responsibility.