The Slap Heard Round the World: Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock on Live Oscar Recording
Like one of a million last night, I cozied up in bed to watch the live recording of the Oscars. Granted, I missed the first half-hour, but I was enjoying the portion where I started. Later that night, my husband calls out, "Oh no. I can't believe it," and proceeds to show me what I'd missed: Will Smith slapping Chris Rock.
If you missed it like I did, let me recap for you: Chris Rock was presenting the Best Documentary award. As Chris Rock does, he starts roasting the crowd to get a few laughs. He gets to Jada Pinkett Smith, and makes the comment, "Jada Pinkett Smith is up for the next G.I Jane" or something to that affect. When the camera spans to Jada and WIll, Will is laughing, Jada is rolling her eyes. Next few seconds pass, Chris continues with his presentation and Will walks on the stage and slaps him. Chris is flabbergasted of course, but tries to keep going. Will then yells from the audience, "Keep my f*cking wife's name out of your mouth." To which Chris Rock replies, "I will, sir," as he calmly tries to get the show back on track.
Facebook erupted with comments not seconds after Will's display. Some agreed with his actions, stating that he was right to defend his wife, and that Chris Rock would indeed keep Jada's name out of his mouth now. Others thought that Will's display was sadly misguided and out of character... and this is where I stand.
I've had the upmost respect for Will Smith for many years. Not just because of his movies, but I've always thought Will was a cool guy. Supportive father, loyal to a fault husband. Of course, I don't know these things firsthand, but like most, I've made my own assumptions based on the portions of his life I've been privy to. His actions last night made me lose some of that respect and here's why.
If you've ever seen Chris Rock live or seen one of his shows, you already know he's going to roast the crowd, and he's amazing at it. Mostly, its harmless comments about outfits, hair, glasses, whatever; and for the most part, the audience laughs it off, even after being the brunt of the joke. The Oscars was no exception. I found out that the reason Jada shaved her head was because she was recently diagnosed with alopecia which was causing her hair to fall out. I get it. I recently had a hack job haircut that left me traumatized for a few days. So, I can only imagine how it feels to lose your hair because of an illness. However, its alopecia. Not to downplay the disease, but she isn't dying. It's not like Chris was making fun of the affects of cancer treatment. Plus, I don't know about you, but GI Jane was a badass. I loved that movie, and Jane's strength. The joke could have been taken many of ways. But I suppose when you're already on edge about your life and appearance, you miss the goodness behind the joke and go straight to the defensive.
Now, the part that is really disturbing to me is that Will was initially laughing at the joke. It wasn't until he saw Jada's reaction that he decided to act accordingly. Some said he was right to do so and I disagree. Black male and female talent is horribly underrepresented in Hollywood, as it is. I could jump on the racial disparities here, but you understand that blacks don't get many opportunities to stand on that stage. I mean, Will was the only one to walk away with an Oscar that night though there's been many black films that deserved one. That being said, I think Will set the black Hollywood community back even further with his display. The idea that we don't know how to act in mature company comes to mind. Not to mention, Will hit a man that couldn't fight back. Had Chris hit him back, the Oscar's would have faded to black, and only God knows the implications of the Oscar's being cancelled because two black men couldn't control their emotions. My hat is off to Chris for maintaining his composure, because had he not, it would have been detrimental on many levels.
After WIll's act, his tears and heartfelt speech when accepting his award fell on deaf ears. Please don't talk about God's plan for your life after you've just hurt your fellow brother on live television over a joke. I'm not here to judge, but I think there was another, more impactful way to address Chris than what Will did. It darkened the whole mood, and the Oscar's felt heavy and uncomfortable from that point forward. I don't know if Will can come back from this one. At least, not in my eyes.
