Affion Crockett Says Will Smith Deserves Oscar Buzz for ‘Emancipation’

Comedian and actor Affion Crockett thinks Will Smith has another Oscar contender on his hands for his work in “Emancipation” … and says it would be unfair if the “mistake” of slapping Chris Rock leads to award season snubs.

We got Affion Thursday at LAX, where he told us about getting to see Will’s slavery-era drama, and he’s certain the movie will be in Oscar contention, and ditto for its lead actor.

As you know, Will’s 10-year Oscars ban doesn’t prevent him from getting nominated or even winning — a fact Affion thinks Academy voters should keep in mind, because he sees Will’s “Emancipation” performance as “masterful.”

As for that beyond infamous Oscars slap of Chris … Affion’s genuinely shocked the world’s still focusing on it now that it’s over 8 months later.

Despite that fact, he thinks there’s a shot the Academy could reevaluate that 10-year ban.

FYI, Affion’s also dealt with stage stormers before … as we reported, he was performing in Florida last year when a woman charged onstage to criticize his act.