Will’s Slap

Chris Rock’s joke on Jada Pinkett’s bald shaven head was not received well by her
husband, who slapped the comedian. As the Oscars ended on Sunday night, the actor made an
acceptance speech amid tears. He seemed openly regretful of his actions and admitted that he had
allowed violence, instead of reason, to take over. He tried to put himself out there as a defender
of his family, but all that did not matter. What really mattered at the time was that he had
publicly slapped someone. He had made his fans see him in a different light, as a violent man.
While Chris Rock was wrong for making a joke out of a serious issue, Smith was wrong for
slapping him. Two wrongs do not make a right, and there were many other ways that he could
have ‘defended’ his family without necessarily slapping the man, violating his rights, and
consequently embarrassing him publicly.
Smith’s actions have been condemned openly by many people. An article by the BBC
stated that the actor’s actions were a “stunning act of narcissism” (Youngs, 2022). He tarnished
his brand and may take a long time to recover from his actions. His actions were a depiction of
toxic masculinity. Jada’s struggle with alopecia and hair loss is an issue that she has addressed
openly. Everyone did not expect Chris Rock to joke about such a personal medical struggle. It
was insensitive of him. However, Smith had other alternatives to resolve the issue. While
everyone understands that he was disappointed with the comedian, it is hard to understand his
violent actions.
Smith’s actions will cost him many years of hard work as an actor. For starters, he
resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. The resignation meant that he
lost his voting rights as a member of the Academy. As it stands, the resignation did not take

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away his Oscar for best actor. Additionally, he can still be nominated in the future and be
considered for awarding at future ceremonies. He can also be invited to attend future Oscar
ceremonies. However, more might come up since the Academy’s board is yet to meet and
deliberate on the best course of action following Smith’s actions on their platform.
While the Academy has not yet decided on whether or not to revoke Smith’s Oscars, it
should not be revoked. One of the codes of conduct adopted by the Academy in 2017 holds that
the Academy does not have a place for people who abuse their status, influence, or power in a
manner that violates recognized standards of decency (Beazley & Cain, 2022). Based on this
code, Smith abused his status and went ahead to violate recognized standards of decency. He
acted indecently when he slapped Chris Rock. While the comedian declined to take any legal
actions, the Academy should follow its code of conduct and punish Smith, but this does not have
to include revoking his Oscars. He is a man of influence and has a huge fan base, and should not
be excused for acting indecently. Even though revoking his Oscars would be such a harsh
reaction.
Besides, in 2017, Harvey Weinstein had his Academy membership revoked following a
sexual misconduct scandal (Beazley & Cain, 2022). The actor was later convicted over the same.
Smith has already resigned voluntarily from the Academy. It is worth noting that the Academy
has not revoked Weinstein’s Oscars. In 2003, Roman Polanski was convicted of having sex and
raping a minor (Beazley & Cain, 2022). Bill Cosby was also convicted and even served two
years in jail for sexual assault. However, the charges were later overturned. None of these actors
have had any of their Oscars taken away. Additionally, the Academy has not in the past punished
any actors who threatened to physically attack others. For instance, in 1973, John Wayne was
held back by security officers when he wanted to attack Sacheen Littlefeather for speaking on

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behalf of Marlon Brando (Beazley & Cain, 2022). While these acts are inexcusable, these
individuals were each punished differently, and none lost his Oscars. Smith, too should be
punished, but his Oscars would not be revoked.
Since the incident, Smith has been going through a trial by public opinion. His career
may be tainted, but it will eventually survive the storm. Charles McDonald, a film publicist, also
thinks the same. He stated that he thinks that Smith’s career in film will survive the unfortunate
incident. He is atoning for his actions, and this is a good sign. He reacted emotionally and
admitted to that. He categorically stated, “Jokes about Jada’s medical condition was too much for
me to bear, and I reacted emotionally” (Beazley & Cain, 2022). This is a repentant man who
deserves a second chance.
On the other hand, the public has been very conservative about the comedian’s jokes. No
one seems to notice that Chris Rock’s inappropriate joke triggered the altercation. He did not
have to joke about Jada’s medical condition. While the public tries Smith for the slap, Rock too
should be held accountable for his words at the Oscars. He is also a public figure who should be
accountable for his actions and his words. While he is the victim in everyone’s eyes, he makes
Jada a victim of his jokes as well. He, too, owes Jada and the Smith family an apology (Hesse,
2022). In extension, he should apologize to the Academy for using their platform to joke about
someone else’s medical condition.
Overall, it is unfortunate that no one has since focused on how the joke made Jada feel.
After the comedian made the joke, and outrightly irritated, self-conscious, or probably
embarrassed, Jada can be seen sitting with had hands tightly held together in her lap (Hesse,
2022). She was displeased by the joke, and so was Smith. However, the cameras only focused
their attention on the slap. This is not to mean that the slap was inconsequential. On the contrary,

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there are two wrongs that took place that evening. One person was physically hurt, while another
was emotionally hurt. Both parties who perpetrated the actions should issue public apologies.
While Smith has done so, Chris Rock is still acting as the victim. While Will Smith may have
believed that he needed to defend his wronged woman, he just took the attention away from
where it belonged: on the offended woman. If only Smith had never slapped Rock, then maybe
the attention would have been on the insensitive and offending joke that he made. However, the
slap just took ay people’s attention from the insensitivity of Rock to the violent act of Smith. All
in all, the two men were wrong, and each owes the public and the afflicted parties an apology.

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References

Beazley, J., & Cain, S. (2022). Could the Academy revoke Will Smith’s Oscar?. The Irish Times.
Retrieved 8 April 2022, from https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/could-the-
academy-revoke-will-smith-s-oscar-1.4839158.
Hesse, M. (2022). The misguided chivalry of Will Smith. The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 April
2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/03/28/will-smith-jada-
pinkett-slap-fallout/.
Youngs, I. (2022). Will Smith: Can his career recover after the Oscars slap?. BBC News.
Retrieved 8 April 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-60953787.