Triumph of the Will by Geoff Carter « The Pen in Hand Blog

Photo: Harry Wad, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

By Geoff Carter

The now infamous moment when Will Smith lost his cool and slapped Chris Rock in front of half the world (or more) at the Academy Awards has already been etched into the bedrock of our cultural mythology. Smith has been painted as everything from a tragic hero to a protective and loving husband to a spoiled brat to a privileged rich kid to a clueless idiot. And there’s probably a grain of truth in each of these—except maybe the tragic hero sensibility thing (which probably came from his agent, anyway).

We all know the story. During a stand-up routine during the Oscars, Chris Rock joked about Jada Pinkett—Mrs. Will Smith’s—short hair, which she had lost during a recent illness, looking like a G.I. Jane thing. Smith leaped up, walked calmly to the stage, and smacked Chris a good one across the face. Then he returned calmly to his seat, refused to leave as requested by Academy reps, and then later went to accept the Oscar he had just won for his performance in King Richard. A surreal sequence. Smith’s acceptance speech was a pastiche of rambling regret, gratitude, justification, rationalization, and just a little bit of culpability.

Then came the fallout. In The Official Substack of Kar33m, his online newsletter, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar argued that Will Smith not only hurt Rock, but that his ill-considered attack insulted women, demeaned all African Americans, and justified violence. He also argued that many comedians will worry what sort of fallout their jokes might have—what would Don Rickles have thought?

Jabbar said that he felt Jada Pinkett is more than able to take care of herself, and that she didn’t need her husband to defend her honor or dignity or whatever; that Smith set a poor example for young people everywhere by demonstrating that using violence (in front of God and the world) is okay, and that doing so perpetuated racist stereotypes about Black men. As KAJ stated in the article, “One of the main talking points from those supporting the systemic racism in America is characterizing Blacks as more prone to violence and less able to control their emotions.” (KAJ)

And what did the actual backlash from this incident looked like? There was no police involvement because Chris Rock declined to press charges, even though he most definitely could have. In fact, Rock displayed restraint and dignity in every stage of this sordid incident. Will Smith was reportedly asked to leave after the slap but refused. Academy officials declined to have the actor physically removed. Smith subsequently received the Best Actor Award and delivered his rambling acceptance speech. In short, there was no immediate backlash.

A few days afterwards, amidst major public uproar, Mr. Smith apologized publicly and resigned from the Academy. A cynic might say this was carefully choregraphed damage control. Then, after much hand wringing and posturing, the Academy of Arts and Sciences barred Mr. Smith from all events, including the Academy Awards ceremony, for ten years. He can still be nominated for an award, and he could still win, so the upshot is that Will Smith doesn’t have to sit through a three and one-half-hour ceremony for the next ten years. In short, this was a very inconsequential backlash.

In a somewhat related matter, while campaigning for the presidency in 2016, Donald Trump said, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?” Trump remarked at a campaign stop at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. “It’s, like, incredible.” (NPR).

It seems that Mr. Trump’s opinion has been borne out by the inaction of the House Committee investigation of Trump’s involvement in the January 6^th attack on the Capitol Building. Apparently, the Committee has compiled enough evidence for a criminal referral of Mr. Trump to the Justice Department but is split on whether to do so because of the political backlash. (The New York Times).

A separate criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office into Trump’s possible criminal activity including falsifying financial statements was derailed when newly elected DA Alvin Bragg declined to press charges against the former president, a move that caused two assistant DAs in charge of the case to resign. (US News and World Report).

Apparently, celebrity does have its privilege. Trump, in his misguided and frightening statement about shooting someone, was for the most part correct. They won’t prosecute him—even though they say the investigation continues—in Manhattan. They might not prosecute him in D.C. because of fears that a criminal referral might politicize the situation.

The truth is that Smith, like Trump, because of his wealth, power, and fame, is immune to the rules by which the rest of us mortals abide. During his presidential campaign, Trump got away with numerous lies, insults, and crudities. Who can forget “grab them by the p….?” Disgusting and crass, right? But it didn’t matter. Had Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, or Mitt Romney got caught on tape saying that, it would have been game over—but Trump got away with it.

Will Smith hit a guy in front of—literally—millions of witnesses and went back to his seat as if nothing had happened. He later accepted his award and apologized to everyone–except the man he slapped—and went to an after-party as if nothing had happened. It was as if he felt he’d done nothing wrong—well, maybe a little something, but that he knew that he was never really going to have to pay for his actions. And he hasn’t.

Will Smith has made himself into a movie star and built a media empire. Kudos to him for all his hard work. But—he is not royalty, and he should not be above the law. Will Smith has his apologists. A number of celebrities have praised him for defending his wife. Others have cited Smith’s history of living with an abusive father as an excuse for his behavior.

The truth is that Will Smith acted like a thug. He selfishly stole the spotlight from all the other nominees and winners in the room. Lovequest, Ariana DeBose, and the Williams family all had their glorious moments tainted by Will Smith. Chris Rock had to endure the embarrassment and humiliation of being assaulted on national TV. But, by all means, because Will Smith is a talented performer, let’s give him a pass. All hail King Will.