Will Smith Slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars — Will was Wrong

If you watched the 2022 Academy Awards, you witnessed a shocking act that changed the vibe for the rest of the event and the conversations that followed.

If you didn’t watch the 2022 Academy Awards and didn’t care about the televised broadcast one way or another, you probably woke up to a slew of confusing headlines and social media posts about it anyway.

The Academy Awards are meant to award and celebrate the achievements of some of the best pieces of work over the past year and those who worked hard to bring them to life.

When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock across the face in the middle of the broadcast, it left the entire world confused.

Shortly after it happened, social media was speculating whether or not it was staged. Then, footage of the entire encounter was released, not just the abridged version aired in the United States.

This uncut version included Smith’s yelling back at Rock not to talk about his wife — expletives included.

With this release, it seemed like the consensus that, against all hope, it was real.

A Shock to the World

Pop culture is not new to something like this. We’ve all witnessed well-known artists storming onto the stage, interrupting the carefully crafted production to pronounce some strong belief.

Is it ever ok? Absolutely not.

But why is this incident worse? I’ll get to that in a second.

First, I want to talk about Will Smith, who has been a pillar of Hollywood and comedy since I can remember. I grew up watching The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and listening to his music. Will Smith is a Millennial icon. And I can’t even appropriately address the impact he’s had on the black community and black culture.

Then, you bring in his family, who, by their own rights, have their spectacular accomplishments. Red Table Talk by itself has become the epitome of transparency, openness, healing, and understanding.

Slap

That’s why I think this was so unexpected. It just seems uncharacteristic. And Smith is in the wrong.

I’ve seen a lot of people commenting that Rock’s alopecia joke toward Jada was also inappropriate, putting them both on the wrong side of the line.

And while I can understand that, context is important. After all, our first amendment, the core tenant in which our democracy was founded, also has contextual restrictions.

Time, place, and matter are important.

Let’s look at time. Rock was in the middle of a crafted script to present an Oscar for best documentary.

Now, place. He was on stage, performing in front of hundreds of industry peers at a carefully (not to mention historically) produced, globally televised event. An event designed specifically to celebrate.

And lastly, manner, which “regulates the mode of individual expression.” You cannot express your displeasure in the form of physical violence toward another human being. That crosses the line into assault.

Rock Is Not to Blame

Comedy is subjective. Everyone finds different types of comedy appealing or derogatory or inappropriate. Comedy in itself, in its purest form, is art. Art can be controversial.

Rock’s script may have been written in bad taste. He could have even improved that joke as he stepped on stage. Regardless, Rock’s set was vetted by the producers of the Academy Awards.

Rock also knew where he was. He is also under time, place, and manner restrictions. And he’s a comedian. He knows his limits and how to test them.

And I give him kudos for how he handled the situation after Smith walked off stage since he was probably in shock himself. I would not have been as gracious.

Was his joke in bad taste? Probably. But I’ve heard a lot worse from massively popular and celebrated comedians. Comedy is subjective. Just because I, personally, don’t like something, doesn’t mean it isn’t funny for the sake of being funny.

Wake Up

It doesn’t matter if you thought Rock’s joke was inappropriate or crossed a line. It doesn’t matter what Smith’s family, or Will himself, is going through personally.

The Academy Awards (or any award show) is not the place to air grievances. It’s not the place to bolster a feud or attack a colleague.

Entertainment can be hard to distinguish from reality because it’s a mirror. Was the slap staged? Was it real? Did production approve the joke? Was it ad-libbed on the spot?

What’s your perspective?

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