On March 27, 2022, the world’s perception of actor Will Smith completely shifted. During the 94th Academy Awards, Smith walked onstage while comedian Chris Rock was presenting an award after Rock had made an impromptu remark making light of Smith’s wife’s alopecia condition and proceeded to slap him in the face. The slap completely overshadowed the ceremony which included Smith winning an Oscar for his performance in King Richard and showing Smith who he really is; a violent narcissist who shrouds his vanity as love for his family.
Will Smith’s history with the Oscars has been tense at best and prior to his win for King Richard, he had received nominations for his roles in Ali and The Pursuit of Happiness but after the latter release, his blockbuster status began to wane after a series of slops and an emerging pattern of bizarre behavior. There were rumors of his adoption of Scientology, rumors that he has not yet dispelled, his desire for his “fuck it 50s” where he hoped to have a harem of women at his disposal and his wife pursuing a separation prior to their reconciliation which all led up to the premiere of the film Concussion. Now viewed as pure Oscar bait, the film received several Golden Globe nominations but nothing from the Academy. Smith viewed it as a slight and protested the Oscars ceremony during the “Oscars So White” controversy. Chris Rock made light of this boycott by making a crude remark about Rihanna but the point he was making was clear; why bother protesting something you were not invited to in the first place?
Then fast forward to 2022 and the 94th Oscars and Smith looks to be the favorite to finally win his coveted award. King Richard and Smith in particular had received rave reviews and he had clearly pulled ahead of his fellow nominees. Chris Rock was onstage to present an entirely different award when the comedian made an unscripted joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia condition. Now, to be fair, it is entirely possible Rock did not know about Smith’s condition or that she had begun shaving her head in response to alopecia but jokes are nothing new at the Oscars. There is a reason why comedians, more often than not, are chosen to host awards ceremonies of this type and why comedians are enlisted to write the jokes we hear during these ceremonies. Comedians are skilled at finding the humor in often dark and dire situations; George Carlin had a profound effect on audiences during his career by pointing out the hypocrisies in society, Richard Pryor joked about lighting himself on fire during a drug bender and Christopher Titus has entire shows on his family troubles which includes divorces, suicide, and homicide. Comedians and comedy help us digest life by helping us understand that others share in the struggles but it all depends on reactions.
During the Oscars and after Rock’s off-the-cuff remark, Will Smith opted to get up from his chair and slap Rock in the face. To his credit, Rock maintained his composure and even managed to crack several jokes until Smith began lobbying a series of expletives that were not shown on television in the United States but the raw, unedited footage soon found its way to the Internet and the world was abuzz. Smith was probably incapable of recognizing that his actions overshadowed what should have been a joyous Oscar ceremony; a film from a streaming service won Best Picture, Jessica Chastain won her first Oscar and an openly queer woman, Ariana DeBose, won an Oscar, and joined Rita Moreno as the only pair to win an Oscar for portraying the same character. Smith also tried to defend his actions during his acceptance speech and managed to apologize to everyone else except for the man he assaulted. It would not be until the next day for Smith to issue a formal apology to Rock and another several days for Smith to be banned from the ceremony for a period of ten years. He preemptively resigned from the Academy but that had the same energy as a “you can’t fire me, I quit” email.
The fallout for Smith was predictable; he lost movie deals and millions of social media followers but what was not predictable was how emboldened people with fragile egos would begin to behave at comedy shows. Anyone who has attended a comedy show will tell you that someone who interrupts the show is immediately the worst person in that room. What is worse than heckling or interrupting? Rushing the stage and attempting to assault the comedian. Less than three months after the Oscars, a man was arrested for attempting to rush Dave Chappelle while he was onstage then in October 2022, comedian Ariel Elias had a beer bottle thrown at her during her routine. Elias was able to play off the incident and even appeared on Jimmy Kimmel. Comedy club owners have noticed an uptick in these attempts but thanks to security, these incidents are quickly resolved and rarely result in arrests. However, the fact that they are happening at all is cause for concern. Words matter but more importantly, actions matter and while it is difficult to directly establish a link from Smith’s assault on Rock to other incidents following that pattern, one cannot deny that Smith normalized that behavior the moment he exited his seat.
After the slap seen around the world, Smith did his best to stay out of the public spotlight; he made no public appearances, made no statements (other than his apology) and likely instructed his family to do the same as his wife also did not post any “Come to Jesus” talks to Facebook. Recently though, Smith has emerged from seclusion to begin promoting his latest film Emancipation released on Apple TV+. During an appearance on Stephen Colbert, Smith continued to show no contrition for his actions and began spouting off clichés like “hurt people hurt people” which even the most two-bit, incompetent psychologist knows not to tell people. It is entirely possible that Smith did work on himself during his short exile and participated in therapy but part of being in therapy and growing as a person is taking ownership of your shortcomings and making amends for the damage you caused. Smith seems to not only not have a grasp of what caused him to assault another man but also does not seem to understand that a true apology goes a long way. He must also understand that he cannot manipulate people with a charming smile and a thin apology the way he could at the height of his fame. As much as audiences love their heroes, we must also do our part to not validate this villainous behavior. Ask yourself this, if your friend or family member engaged in this behavior, how would you react? Smith does not deserve a pass simply because he is a celebrity. He is a man who allowed himself to be ruled by a fragile ego and vanity to inflict his will upon others. In an age where toxic masculinity is pervasive, Will Smith is someone who does not deserve sympathy, he needs to actually work on himself and not give us halfhearted apology attempts on late night talk shows.
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