Will Smith and family receive Robin Williams Legacy of Laughter Award

Will Smith and his family have been honoured with the Robin Williams Legacy of Laughter Award.

The prize was established in honour of the beloved funnyman by his kids - Zelda, Cody, and Zak - after he died by suicide in 2014 following years battling mental health issues.

In a video posted by Will on Monday, Zak announced the prize was going to the actor, who followed in Robin's footsteps by playing the Genie in last year's live-action Aladdin, his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, his son Trey, and their children Jaden and Willow.

"This year we wanted to honour the entire Smith family as individuals and as a whole for their longstanding and continued contributions to the world," Zak said.

"You've held groundbreaking discussions on topics like family, career and mental health in a world that often expects silence from its most visible citizens," he explained. "Your charitable acts are many and varied, from feeding the homeless, helping inner-city youth programs, fighting AIDS in South Africa and bringing safe water to those who need it most."

The family then filmed a response to the honour, with Jaden joining them virtually because he was awaiting the results of a Covid-19 test.

"From one genie family to another, it's one of the great joys for us as a family, and a FaceTime, to accept the Robin Williams Legacy of Laughter Award (for) using laughter as a force for good, as a family," Will said.

"Robin Williams was an absolute master of human connection," he continued. "He wanted you to laugh. It's almost like he needed you to laugh and however brief the moment was, he was always scanning for what is the interaction that the two of you could have that would be memorable and magical."

Billy Crystal was the first to receive the award in 2017, followed by Whoopi Goldberg, and then Ben Stiller in 2019.