Will Smith farted on the “Men in Black” set and the crew was evacuated for three hours

“Men in Black” director Barry Sonnenfeld appeared on the “Let's Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa” podcast and revealed that the set of the 1997 action comedy once had to be evacuated “for about three hours” because Will Smith farted. Smith starred opposite Tommy Lee Jones in “Men in Black,” which grossed $584 million worldwide and became the third highest-grossing film of 1997. Combined with the blockbuster success of “Independence Day,” the film made Smith a global superstar.

According to Sonnenfeld, the incident occurred during the scene where Smith and Jones are in a transforming car that is traveling at high speeds and overturns. In order to film the sequence, the two actors had to be “hermetically sealed” in the capsule used for the car.

“There are locks that prevent it from opening and falling,” Sonnenfeld said. “I say, 'Roll the camera.' And I hear Will Smith say, 'Oh God, I'm so sorry.' Tommy, I'm so sorry. “Baz, get the ladder.” And you hear Tommy say, “That's okay, Will.” Don't worry, Will. Don't worry, Will.' Anyway, I don’t know what’s going on, do you?”

“So we race up the ladder. Yes, Tommy sticks out his leg as the ladder comes over and runs down the stairs. And what happened is: Will Smith is a farter,” the director continued. “It’s just a few people. And you really don't want to be in a very small, hermetically sealed room with a Will Smith fart. You don’t even want to sit next to him at the Disney ranch.”

Sonnenfeld concluded: “We evacuated the stage for about three hours. And that is incredible. No, he's, you know, a nice guy. He just farts. Some do, some don’t.”

The director then made two Men in Black sequels with Smith: 2002's Men in Black II and 2012's Men in Black 3. Neither film matched the box office grosses of the 1997 original. Brolin starred alongside Smith in both sequels.

Listen to Sonnenfeld's full interview on the Let's Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa podcast here.