The 2022 Academy Awards, a Black tie affair, held on Sunday, March 28, in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theater, will go down in history as the night Academy Award winner, Will Smith, smacked the hell out of comedian Chris Rock. The only other slap that was so significant in Hollywood was when Sidney Poitier slapped the white racist sheriff in the movie “In The Heat of the Night.”
While preparing to introduce the award for Best Documentary, Chris Rock, jokingly directed this comment to Jada Pinkett Smith, who also lives with alopecia, “Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see ya.” — a reference to the 1997 film for which actress Demi Moore shaved her head. Will laughed from his seat while Jada pulled an unimpressed expression. It was a bad joke, told in bad taste, and it is now reported that Rock did not know that Mrs. Smith suffered an illness that caused hair loss.
Mrs. Will Smith, professionally Jada Pickett Smith, has alopecia. While the exact cause is unknown, alopecia is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy hair follicles and causes hair loss. It threatens to be permanent and most often leads to baldness. It is one of the worse things that can happen to a woman. It is tragic when it happens to a woman whose work depends on her looks.
Jada took baldness to another level and made it fashionable and even trendy. She looked beautiful, making a bold statement with her shaved head, couture gown, and bold statement earrings. However, she is probably very sensitive about her looks. Loss of hair has NOT been discussed widely on the Hollywood circuit. Yet, many women, particularly the glam Hollywood Black women, are experiencing this disease. Alopecia can result from poor hair maintenance habits of women wearing wigs, weaves, tight braids, and sew-ins. For example, supermodel Naomi Campbell has no edges, probably from years of hairstylists gluing wigs to her head.
Here’s my take on “the slap.” It’s a sensitive matter. Firstly, it’s probably not wise for a satirical comedian to look out at the audience and randomly provide wisecracks. Was Chris Rock, just being a smart-ass? You might have freedom of the press, but you are privileged when you have the microphone. Where did dignity go? Cursing is a part of today’s English lexicon. We curse each other using the F-word, the B-word, and the M-word. The hip-hoppers have taken the liberty of disrespecting Black women with demeaning name-calling. Reality TV portrays Black women as cheap hussies fighting about trivial nonsense. Some of the new artists are disgusting as they show too much skin and parade their fat bodies approaching stardom. Is this what we want to see?
And now here we are at the Academy Awards, where the pretty ones sit poised to see how peers judged them for the high honor. Not too long ago, Rev. Jesse Jackson was marching for inclusion on the stage, and some of the stars, including Jada, boycotted the awards because of non-inclusion. This Academy was the most inclusive ever, with director Will Packard producing the show live.
Enters Will Smith as he sits and listens to Chris Rock crack about his wife’s appearance. Not so good. Movie stars are on at all times. They are often set up for the kill. The sloppy look, the slip of words, being with the wrong person. It’s a hard life always to be pulled together and “on.” But we should remember that movie stars and others in the limelight are human. That means they emote, have feelings, and sometimes it’s hard to digest it all. Being on is hard at all times.
Will lost his cool, and he showed a lack of emotional maturity. He was sitting in anticipation of winning the Academy Award, vying to become the fifth Black man ever to win the Best Actor Award. Tension was high, and he approached the stage to protect his wife. Bravo Will, but you shouldn’t have. Tough to sit there and listen to the raw tasteless joke. The signifying game often played with Black men in the barbershop and at the bar manifested with a screeching slap in the face on stage at the Academy. Too much playing on TV and not enough seriousness. I suggest Mr. Poitier’s type of dignity is very much in order. But brother Will is of another generation. Manners matter.
Brothers Denzel Washington, Will Packer, and Tyler Perry approached Will in a quiet-down mode. And Mr. Sean “Diddy’ Combs suggested on stage that we will resolve this as family, meaning as famous Black men later. Will had a temper, and it showed. But before we become too critical, I wonder what you would do if the joke were on your wife. Would you sit there and listen and laugh it off? Maybe not. And let’s remember, Will saw his father abuse his mother, so perhaps it was just personal.
As we watch the pundits, the commentators, and the public discussion on the matter, let’s be aware that White folk and Black folk have a difference of opinion on this subject. Some Black women think about this differently. The real news is a Black man stood up for his wife. Will was all man. There is a silent code with Black celebrity men that says, never let them see you sweat or exhibit anger. Take the insult, and suppress your real feelings because the White world is watching you and may lose your favor and opportunity.
Comedian Tiffany Haddish says, “As a woman, who has been unprotected, for someone to say, ‘Keep my wife’s name out your mouth, leave my wife alone,’ that’s what your husband is supposed to do, right? Protect you,” she explained. The comedian, 42, then reiterated, “That meant the world to me.”
However, the “Girls Trip” star recognized that the world “might not like how it went down” even though, for her, it was “the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen because it made me believe that there are still men out there that love and care about their women, their wives.”
What has happened to the Academy as we reflect on the most integrated Academy Awards show ever? What is the takeaway? Black men fight because they are violent? Here comes the stereotype. Will Smith be barred from the Academy in the future? Perhaps Rock should submit jokes before going on stage, and maybe he should omit wife jokes.
As I consider the matter proudly, I recall stories of Mr. Richard Williams, the father of Serena Williams and Venus Williams. He was the subject of King Richard; it was his real life. Once, when his daughter was playing a championship game of tennis she was referred to and was called a “nigger” and a “monkey” on the court. Mr. Williams took it as long as he could and eventually met the naysayers with his fist and was barred from the game. He said he couldn’t sit and listen to the disrespect for his daughter(s).
Maybe, I am overthinking the situation, but for so many years, Black men have not had the nerve, the courage, or the wherewithal to “protect” their women, so stand up, Black man, Will Smith, and smack the name-caller on your wife. Chris Rock was disrespectful, and in this day of age, everybody needs to get a grip and get back to good manners. Some things you just don’t say and do on stage. Smith did not play the “good Negro” or “polite Negro game.” He got angry and chose to be a stand-up man for his wife’s insult.
Both men were wrong, and unfortunately, it is still the case that one Black person affects us all. And now we might not get invited to the party, the Black Tie party that is, because of bad behavior.
So, now there will be new rules for the Academy Award shows. More security, more fencing between the audience and stage, and intentional delay when broadcasting live television. And by the way, the ratings for the Academy went up by 56%. So, next year, they might let Dave Chappelle host.
Chris Rock was the consummate professional. He didn’t miss a beat as he recovered from the slap. He was emotionally mature as he kept it moving. But I am sure he learned a valuable lesson, as did other comedians. And he didn’t press charges. I’m so glad Steve Harvey was not the comedian presenting the award that night. The outcome indeed would have been different.
Lame take…still on Rauner’s payroll ?