The slap heard around the world

Chris Rock and Will Smith are both in the wrong

Katherine Ely / Asst. Opinion Editor / The USD Vista

This year’s Oscars will be remembered for the dramatic altercation between two iconic members of Hollywood: Will Smith and Chris Rock.

It is easy to choose sides when celebrities publicly provoke controversies. Whenever a topic of debate arises, it is always good to consider where both sides are coming from in their actions.

I believe that neither Rock nor Smith are entirely innocent in the part they played during the ceremony’s disruption.
The incident began when Chris Rock was introducing the nominees for the Best Documentary category. Rock casually referenced Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith’s wife, in a joke about her recently shaved head: “Jada, can’t wait for G.I. Jane 2.”

Jada appeared to look uncomfortable by the joke, prompting Will Smith to walk up to Rock on stage and deliver an unforgettable smack, one that will surely go down in Oscars history.

After leaving the stage, the audio cut out as viewers saw Smith shouting to Rock, “Get my wife’s name out of your [expletive] mouth.”

For one, Will Smith’s decision to slap Rock was extremely inappropriate. He should have never reacted with violence, let alone on camera in front of millions of viewers. If he hadn’t slapped Rock, then I’d say he has every right to stick up for his wife. But even then, he should have waited for the ceremony to end and handled it professionally, out of the public eye.
Smith’s reasoning for acting the way he did was because of a condition his wife has called Alopecia. An article in the New York Times defined Alopecia as “a broad term that refers to any form of hair loss.” Jada has been open about her condition since 2018 when she first mentioned it on her show, “Red Table Talk.”

After Rock’s joke, when Jada appeared uncomfortable by its nature, Smith’s unexpected behavior appeared to be because he was protecting the one he loves. In his acceptance speech after winning Best Actor for “King Richard,” a movie about the father of Venus and Serena Williams, Smith stated, “Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family.” From this statement, I believe that Smith’s recent portrayal of Williams ultimately played a part in why the actor reacted the way he did.

Smith also apologized to the Academy in his acceptance speech for his outburst but did not include any type of apology directed toward Rock. Though Smith might have believed he was only sticking up for his wife, it does not excuse him from being in the wrong for slapping Rock. 

Rock believed he was just doing his job as a comedian: telling a joke. But it wasn’t just a joke, and Rock had no place to comment on a woman’s health condition. Though we do not know for sure, Rock alleges that he was unaware of Jada’s condition when he made the joke. Whether it was intended or not, at the end of the day ,Rock was out of line. Though it did not merit the response it received, it should have never happened in the first place.

My biggest issue with what went down at the Oscars is that it completely overshadowed all the amazing accomplishments of the night. Only minutes after the slap, Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson was given the Oscar for Best Documentary for “Summer of Soul,” a major accomplishment for his first time being the director of a Hollywood film. And yet, when Thompson took the stage to accept the award from Rock, the moment of celebration was stolen away from him as whispers of what had just happened circulated around audience members, the echoes of Smith’s outburst still ringing throughout the theater.

Later on in the night, Jane Campion won the award for Best Director for the film “The Power of the Dog” being the third woman in history to receive that award.

This year was also the first time a deaf nominee was awarded Best Supporting Actor when Troy Kotsur won for “CODA.” The whole point of the Academy Awards is to honor members of Hollywood for their outstanding job in a film. The people who won deserve our attention and we shouldn’t let a brawl between two celebrities overshadow their accomplishments.

Rock should not be seen as the victim here simply because he was the one being slapped. Since he played a role in the disruption he should be punished in some sort of way for his poorly-worded joke. I feel that, because Rock is a loose canon when it comes to his words, he should no longer be allowed to tell jokes on the Oscar stage unless it is approved by the Academy beforehand. Otherwise, we might worry that another incident similar to this one may occur again.

In the days following the Oscars, Smith released a public apology on Instagram to both the Academy and to Rock for his violent actions. Additionally, Smith announced his resignation from the motion picture academy. This means that the actor will no longer be included in the Academy’s voting process for future Oscar nominations.
Though I believe that Smith should face repercussions for his indecent actions, I feel that his award for Best Actor should not be revoked.

Whether or not Smith is wrong for what he did, the actor deserved the award like any of the other nominees for his outstanding performance in King Richard, and we should not discredit him because of his actions. I think, instead of revoking his award, the best course of action is to no longer allow Smith the privilege of participating in the Oscars aside from when he is nominated in the future. He should not be invited to the ceremonies unless he is nominated for an award. but should not be allowed to present awards as well as be included in the voting process. This way, Smith can still be acknowledged for his work in future films, while also being fairly punished for what he did wrong. Hopefully the groundbreaking winners in future award ceremonies will receive the recognition they deserve.