Westbrook Inc., the media company run by Hollywood power couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Variety reports that 10 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.
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“We received 10 positive tests and the crew members quarantined and remain in quarantine,” read a statement from Westbrook Inc. “All 10 people were retested and have received negative results. We will continue to follow all official guidelines and safety protocols.”
Prior to the positive tests, the company stated that it had been following all of the Appendix J production guidelines required for resuming video production, set by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The media company’s offices are located in Calabasas, California.
The production company’s statement to Variety disclosed that the outbreak affected one unnamed project, which is now on hold. A Westbrook Inc. spokeswoman stated that several other projects will continue production with non-infected workers.
According to Los Angeles County guidelines, the 10 employees who tested positive are to quarantine for at least 10 days. Anyone who came into “close” contact with them must also self-quarantine for two weeks, but Westbrook Inc. did not disclose who they might be.
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It is also undetermined where the 10 staffers contracted the virus. All of them were asymptomatic, according to the statement.
Westbrook Inc., which was founded by Smith and Pinkett Smith along with Miguel Melendez, Kosaku Yada and Tera Hanks, is currently developing King Richard, a biopic on Richard Williams, father and former coach of tennis players Serena and Venus Williams.
The company is also working on a dramatic reboot of Smith’s 1990’s sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, as reported by theGrio.
Pinkett Smith recently released an episode of her Westbrook-produced Facebook Watch digital series, Red Table Talk, that centered around the coronavirus pandemic.
Will Smith has also addressed the COVID-19 pandemic with his Snapchat series, Will From Home. One episode included a socially distanced concert by him and his longtime music partner, DJ Jazzy Jeff, who disclosed that he had contracted coronavirus in April.
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