This, Too, Shall Pass: Will Smith’s Not So Shining Moment at the 2022 Oscars

This post is hard for me to write because I am a fan of both Chris Rock and Will Smith. Both men “made it” in a town that was not originally built for them. They paid their dues and rose to stardom based on their gifts and talents. Plain and simple. I don’t know them personally, but as I usually break formal writing conventions on this platform, I will be referring to them by their first names throughout the rest of this post.

I’m going to take a page from Jemele Hill’s segment on her podcast right now, as I am completely bothered about this whole situation. But perhaps not for reasons that you may think.

For those of you who may have been under a rock last night, the world has been all abuzz about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars (Sunday, March 27, 2022). People have had a lot to say about the incident and many are appalled at Will’s behavior. The comments range from, “His Oscar should be taken from him,” to “He should have been thrown out of the building,” to “He should have been led away in handcuffs.”

Now, having an unpopular opinion seems to be my portion as of late. Because my last blog post was about giving Kanye “Ye” West grace, despite his childish ramblings and outright questionable behavior amid his very public divorce from Kim Kardashian, I am fully aware that this post won’t win any popularity contests either.

That said, Will Smith allowed his emotions to overtake him in that moment. But to understand how Smith can even get there, one would have to read his memoir, Will. In it, he talks about being afraid most of his young life. Afraid of his own shadow. Afraid to stand up for himself. Afraid to stand up for others. Just afraid. His father, however, was domineering and abusive. Will even points out that one of the most traumatic moments of his childhood is when his father punched his mother so hard that she fell to the floor – unconscious. His father, Willard Smith Sr., could sometimes be a tyrant, but he was also one of Will’s best teachers.

Maybe it was because I had read Will’s book, but when the camera panned back to Will after that slap, all I saw was Will’s father’s face. It was like his father had taken over him in that moment and did what Will could not – or perhaps – would not do.

Some people are saying that it was only a joke and Will could have let it ride.

Unfortunately, however, this wasn’t the first time Jada had been the butt of Chris Rock’s Jokes. At the 2016 Oscar Awards, Chris came for the Smiths. And people laughed it off and didn’t give it a second thought. But what happens when someone believes they can keep sacrificing your family – your wife, in particular? Do you let it go again? And again?

Jada Pinkett-Smith has been transparent about her struggles with alopecia – a condition that causes hair loss. She decided to embrace her reality by just shaving her head, while holding it high as she moved through the world. Many people who have cancer do the same thing, as they often lose their hair because of chemotherapy – the invasive cancer treatment that is known to cause hair loss.

Would someone make fun of a person’s shaved head who is currently undergoing chemo? We would all love to say no – probably because one would appear inhumane for doing so. I know it may not be an equal comparison (cancer and alopecia), but I would imagine that anyone who is walking around with a shaved head due to chemotherapy or alopecia didn’t find Chris’s joke funny. It goes way beyond Jada, who was clearly unsettled at Chris’s insensitivity. Will, who initially laughed, obviously changed his mind about it being funny. Sometimes, it takes our brains a few seconds to suspend judgment, and sometimes, we can contain our anger.

People are saying that had Jada laughed, none of this would have happened. But I personally don’t believe that Jada’s reaction had any bearing on Will’s actions. He simply decided not to laugh this one off – and Willard Sr. stood up.

It has happened to all of us. An initial reaction to something jarring can be quite different once the dust settles. Perhaps I’m speaking for myself because I seem to be the only person who admits to being human lately.

Back to why I’m bothered.

I am bothered by the millions of people who have made themselves judge and jury in Will’s case. People seem to forget that he’s not the first celebrity to lose his cool in public.

I’ve been around for a while, so I remember when National Hockey League (NHL) players would get into outright brawls during games. Back then, It was considered common to watch the news at night and see NHL players trying to tear each other’s heads off!

I’m bothered because I’m tired of hearing people say, “But Will hit Chris!” They say this as if slapping somebody was just invented last night!

Remember when Jesus flipped those tables in the temple? He probably actually slapped somebody too, but that detail was left out of the gospels. Okay. You get the gist.

I’m bothered because every time something like this happens, people choose sides, jump on bandwagons, and point fingers.

My take? Both men were out of pocket last night. Yes – I understand that comedy is known to push limits, but it simply isn’t cool to make a joke about someone else’s pain. If someone has recently shaved their head, practice the old adage – if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.

And Will should have put forth more effort to resist the urge to slap someone. The rest of us have to do it, so he should be no exception. Approaching Chris like a grownup after the show would have been the best thing to do.

Neither of them took the high road, and for this, they will both have to deal with the scrutiny and judgment for a little while. Will has since issued a public apology to Chris via Instagram. It’s a start to what I hope can be a mending of fences and moving past this whole debacle.

(CBS News)

So, if you know like I know (as the old folks down South used to say), this, too, shall pass.