The Slap
Did any of y’all watch the Oscars? I didn’t. Awards for art seem incredibly stupid to me. It’s all a bunch of lobbying and political maneuverings that don’t mean much of anything. Kudos to the winners for getting a prize. But that doesn’t mean much to me. As I was getting ready for bed on Sunday night, I noticed something weird happening on my Twitter feed. People were posting some variation of this:
I knew something must be up. It didn’t take long to find out what happened. At some point during the Academy Awards (and minutes before winning his first award), Will Smith went on stage and slapped Chris Rock. It was not a punch. It was a slap, which, depending on how you feel about slapping can be an ultimate sign of disrespect. Here’s how the whole thing went down:
Yikes.
There have been a lot of “controversial” moments at awards shows over the years. There was the time Marlon Brando sent Sacheen Littlefeather to represent him at the awards (and accept his Oscar) on behalf of the American Indian Movement. There was the time that Ricky Gervais roasted pretty much everyone while drinking (he did this more than once while hosting numerous times). And who can forget when Danny Bonaduce dumped Johnny Fairplay on his face.
I’m sure you all have your favorite moments. But this one, heretofore known as The Slap (sorry to the bad TV show with the same name) felt different. There was real anger here. And violence. What was the cause? Apparently, it was this joke about how Jada will be starring in the next GI Jane movie.
Some background. Jada Pinkett Smith has alopecia which causes hair loss. I had no idea that she had that and I am willing to bet whoever wrote the joke (it was NOT Chris Rock’s joke) didn’t know that either. Shame on them if they did. I am also willing to bet that Chris Rock had no idea or he may have skipped over it as well. It would be incredibly distasteful for someone to make fun of a medical condition and I doubt the producers of the Academy Awards would be in favor of such a thing.
This incident provoked A LOT of discussions.
First, maybe don’t make fun of someone’s appearance at all? Especially at an award show where everyone in attendance is there to honor someone. Haven’t we moved comedy BEYOND poking fun at how someone looks? The joke, in my opinion, was really bad. I mean, a GI Jane reference? How old are these writers? Does anyone even remember that movie? It’s from 25 years ago and wasn’t a hit. It didn’t even make its budget back. Out of all the distasteful jokes I’ve heard over the years I’m sure nobody thought this one would be the one to get the host slapped.
The interesting thing about watching the replay is that Will Smith seems to be laughing. Jada… not so much. Her epic eye-roll is all you need to see to know that she’s heard some variation of this joke many, many times.
So maybe let’s just stop making fun of the way people look. You never know why a person has a bald head or wears a particular item of clothing.
There is also a racial component to this, whether or not people want to acknowledge that fact. I have no idea what the relationship between Will Smith and Chris Rock is. There was apparently a little bit of bad blood between them from comments Chris Rock made 6 years ago when Will and Jada decided to boycott the Oscars because there were no BIPOC nominees. But it can hardly be described as a feud or war. That two very famous Black men were involved in this is notable.
I’m not sure I totally agree with this. I can’t say for sure how Will Smith would have reacted to a white comedian making that joke. I’m not sure it’s fair to say he wouldn’t have done the same thing. I disagree that he wouldn’t have been able to reach the stage. Will Smith is very, very famous and has a reputation as being an affable guy. I don’t think anyone who saw him coming up on stage thought for a second that he was going to slap Rock, who himself continued smiling and leaning towards Smith. I think Will Smith is famous enough that he could have done just about anything he wanted. I think most people probably thought they would have some kind of playful banter or maybe Smith would take the mic ala Kanye. Violence was the last thought on my mind the first time I watched the clip.
This take, I do agree with. There’s no way someone makes fun of ANYONE for having alopecia. I hope that the writer did not know about it and wasn’t being cruel. If one of those actresses had shaved their head for a role then I absolutely think they would have made it. But making fun of someone’s medical condition is beyond the pale. I also agree that if it were a white person being slapped there is no way Will Smith goes on stage minutes later to collect his award. He would have been booted for sure.
I am not going to post or comment on the Black-on-Black violence angle to this for many reasons, the main one being that there are a lot more people better qualified than I am to discuss it. I have avoided looking for posts about that because of the racism many, many people will be including. Also, as a white dude, I do not have the life experience necessary to make any kind of an informed opinion on it.
There is also a pseudo-religious angle here to explore. Will Smith and his wife are Scientologists. They’re so deeply involved that they even opened a school in LA based on its principles. Apparently, there is a philosophy about slapping and asserting physical dominance that is taught to Scientologists.
I had no idea about that but it makes sense. Intimidation and violence are great ways for cults to retain members. Ask Leah Remini. It may also answer the question of whether or not Will Smith would have reacted in the same way regardless of who said the joke. The lesson, as always, is that Scientology is not a good thing.
There’s also a gender approach. If Amy Schumer had made that joke would he have slapped her? What about Wanda Sykes? We could play the “what if” game all day if we wanted to. I’m not sure how useful it is but if that’s what you want to do, have at it.
This would be outrageous. Taking back his award for slapping Chris Rock would FLY in the face of every other example of misconduct the Oscars has failed to react to. Roman Polanski won an award in 2002, decades after he was found guilty of raping a child. Harvey Weinstein, who did all of the crimes, still has dozens of Oscars. Mel “I hope you get raped by a pack of n-words” Gibson not only has his awards but WAS IN ATTENDANCE last night! There are many, many others to point to who did far worse than slap someone and still did not have their awards taken away.
It is CRAZY that literally minutes after this incident, Smith was allowed to remain and collect his first Academy Award. Like… he committed a crime! How is he not kicked out? What kind of insane messaging is that? To his credit, Smith apologized to everyone except Chris Rock and later on P Diddy said Smith and Rock squashed it afterward.
And for those of you who are downplaying this by saying it’s not a big deal or that Smith was simply defending his wife’s honor — it may be time to reevaluate your view of the world. Smith’s display was nothing but toxic masculinity. First, for thinking that his wife could not defend herself. Second, that violence is the only solution to a circumstance like this. And last, the inherent entitlement in strutting across a stage where you do not belong and hitting the only person who should be up there, all under some misguided notion of honor.
I’m curious to see how this all ends. It seems IMPOSSIBLE to think that there won’t be some kind of summit or joint interview or something between them where everything is settled. I also wonder how this will impact Will Smith’s career. I can’t imagine him getting an invite back for next year’s awards… but then again if Mel “Evil Jews Run the World” Gibson can be there then I suppose anything can happen.
Before we go, I want to share two more videos. The first one is the trailer for the show The Slap which I mentioned at the beginning of this post. It is such an insane and ill-conceived premise that I cannot believe it is a real thing. Look at that cast! Amazing. The second is a comedy video made based on the first. It is hilarious.
Happy Monday everyone. Try not to make fun of how other people look!