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People watching on screens and those present at the venue alike were stunned when Will Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock in the face after the latter joked about Jada Pinkett Smith, Will’s wife. Rock, who was on the stage to present the best documentary award started by cracking a few jokes. Some of the jokes were about members present in the audience and that included Jada Pinkett Smith whom Chris referred to as GI Jane for her closely cropped hair. Jada is fighting alopecia which causes hair loss.
How it panned Out
Initially, it wasn’t clear if the assault was planned as a part of the entire show. The show’s audio was muted immediately and it stayed so as a stunned Rock, still onstage said, “Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me.”
After the incident, as per Rebecca Ford of Vanity Fair, Denzel Washington whisked Smith away to a side and had a conversation with him. Both of them knelt alongside Pinkett Smith when the show resumed after a commercial break. Tyler Perry was also seen joining Washington and Smith during the commercial break. Ford said that the Smiths held hands while remaining seated after the assault as long as the show continued.
An Unprecedented Incident
A librarian with the Academy confirmed to Joy Press of Vanity Fair that this was most probably the first incident of onstage violence at the Oscars. This was not however the first time that Rock had joked about Pinkett Smith. He had mocked Pinkett Smith after she boycotted the 2016 Oscar ceremony.
After the incident, Rock sought to dilute it backstage when he referred to Smith portraying Muhammad Ali in the biopic about the boxer that was nominated for the Oscars. He jokingly said that it was the only time that anyone left without a scratch after being hit by Muhammad Ali.
Smith was at the Oscar ceremony to collect his best actor award for his performance in King Richard. Smith was in tears when he compared himself to Richard Willams who was known to defend his family fiercely.
Divided Opinion
Comedian Tiffany Haddish stood by Will Smith. She praised Will for having stood up for Jada saying that it was what every woman wants from her man. Will Smith’s son weighed in by commenting in a tweet “that’s how we do.”
Others condemned the violence. Acclaimed filmmaker Rob Reiner tweeted that Will Smith owed an apology to Chris Rock. Actress Sophia Bush said that violence can never be condoned.
Final Thoughts
While the argument that Chris Rock’s joke about Jada was insensitive and in bad taste does hold some water, Will Smith’s action was an outburst best avoided. After the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the administrator of the awards denounced Will Smith’s actions and initiated an inquiry, Smith did apologize to Chris. Keeping arguments about Will Smith’s violent outburst aside, we hope that there’s no repeat of any such unfortunate incident and the Oscars continue enthralling us as a reward for cinematic excellence.
