United States rapper, Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith‘s production company Westbrook Inc. has paused the ongoing production of one of their projects. This is coming after 10 members of staff tested positive for coronavirus.
Variety reported that Westbrook Inc. is the ‘first significant transmission reported at a production company’. In a statement made available to Variety, Westbrook inc. said:
“We received 10 positive tests and the crew members quarantined and remain in quarantine. All 10 people were retested and have received negative results. We will continue to follow all official guidelines and safety protocols.”
The company helps Will and Jada create content like her hit Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk, his Snapchat show Will From Home, in addition to other television and film projects.
Though the company revealed that they had stopped production on the show that involved the affected workers, they did not reveal which particular show they were referring to. However, production and filming have continued on other shows that involve members of staff who are not affected. They said they are also working with a Department of Public Health investigation. A source close to the company revealed that Westbrook stopped using Rapid Reliable Testing, the firm that conducted both the original the follow-up tests.
Smith and Pinkett Smith founded Westbrook Inc. in 2019 along with Miguel Melendez, Kosaku Yada and Tera Hanks.