Okay, yes, I did it. I wrote about “The Slap.” This glittering spectacle of flesh against flesh captured the public imagination like nothing I’ve seen since…well, the last time a celebrity did something stupid. In my article, He Got In One Little Fight, I asked why we’ve accepted the idea that celebrities, just because they’re rich and famous, are considered fair game for “jokes” that most of us wouldn’t tolerate
I don't condone the violence, Jada's awful, chilling effect on comedians, blah blah disclaimer blah blah. Ok now that I've properly contextualized myself...
I thought the overreaction to the slap was extreme. The basic thing is, for me: if some dude's going to mock my partner's appearance, especially if that appearance is due to a disease, right in front of me (some balls there), and if that mockery is taking place at a public or semi-public place like a bar or a party or a work event or an awards gala... well, someone might get smacked. That's the risk they chose to take by mocking my partner in front of a bunch of people, including me and my partner. And I'll have to accept the consequences as well.
I have literally done this (although it was a shove, not a smack). And I'd do it again.
"I thought the overreaction to the slap was extreme."
I thought the slap was extreme given the context. If this was two people in the street, or in a bar, or in countless other scenarios that weren't a live event watched by millions of people, I'd shrug my shoulders. I agree with you, if somebody insulted my partner, especially over a medical condition, they might get smacked too.
Bu there were roughly a bazillion better ways to handle this, some of which might even have included slapping Chris Rock at a more appropriate moment. Will turned a silly, throwaway moment into international news. He and Jada came out of it looking infinitely worse than Chris Rock did. And for what?
You make a solid point (you always do!) but I'm not so sure they came out looking infinitely worse. Certainly in the eyes of media especially Twitter. But to all of my pretty basic, apolitical-but-veering-conservative extended family composed of white people, black people, Filipino/as? (And many of my diverse colleagues as well.) The reaction was lots & lots of support for Will standing up for his lady. It really felt to me as if the anger against him sorta connected, in a rather fun way, both the woke & anti-woke folks with college degrees. Online, it felt like all the intelligentsia came out against the slap. But regular folks? Not so sure it made him look bad. I think many felt it made him look normal i.e. not a Hollywood type. And, in a strange way, I think this also connects to the populist appeal of Trump.
I'm of the "step out back" generation. If Smith thought it worthy of an ass kicking he could have done it back stage after the fact rather than disrupt and spoil the award show.
As for my thoughts on the slap itself. I don't think it was about Jada as much as it was about displaying the image of his manhood which he probably felt had suffered at the hands of Jada long before the night of the slap.
That last part about image of manhood suffering feels very true, from what I've gathered. Happy to say that I know very little about this couple other than what I've learned in a couple articles post-slap. It does sound like a lot of dirty laundry has been unnecessarily aired. But it also feels true from what I know about (and witnessed) how toxic relationships operate in general.
I wrote about this when it happened because there was so much going on here. I'm not at all convinced Will was entirely motivated by 'manhood', 'honour', and 'defending his woman'. Jada's eyeroll seemed disgusted at worst, it's not like she broke down in tears. The look on Smith's face - and I watched the video several times - was someone who was quite pleased with himself, who was all ego in that moment, which is why Denzel Washington uttered wisdom for the ages when he told Smith, "When you're at your peak, that's when the Devil comes for you." I get it - it's about that arrogance, that feeling you can do no wrong when you're in a particularly successful time in your life. I suspect just a few minutes after the incident he had that 'oh fuck' moment when he realized he'd fucked up supremely, which is why his Big Moment 45 minutes later was a lot less joyful for him than it might have been, because now everyone had had time to process what happened, he knew it too, and he went up there as a fucking idiot rather than a conquering Oscar hero.
I was quite disappointed in him because even though I'm not particularly a fan, I've always liked him as an actor and love the fact that he's a science & technology geek.
AFAIK Rock still hasn't apologized to Jada for his joke, whether he knew about her alopecia or not. The joke was cruel if he did and not so much if he thought it was a fashion statement, which is what I thought it was at first so I laughed at the joke. When I found out it was alopecia I realized why Rock got mad but I didn't think he should have done what he did.
I'm not that au courant with the details of the Smith marriage or what Jada is like as a person, but I did research alopecia a bit (I can certainly sympathize with someone suffering from this, one of my friends is too) and I learned that black women suffer from it especially although often they encourage it with those tight braids they favour. That's not good for the scalp and then led me down the rabbit hole of 'black women's hair' and how politicized it is and how it supposedly keeps them from better jobs. Quite educational, and I really don't give a damn why anyone's hair should be an issue unless it's an inhibitor of work in some way.
Anyway...my interest in the story was Smith's rank smug arrogance as he walked away, followed by his 'oh fuck' moment and not being terribly sympathetic when he got whacked with a 10-year ban. If he ever gets another award someone else will have to claim it for him. I agree with someone else here that it was probably an overreaction - maybe a five-year ban? - but I kind of like it because I hope it sends a message to America that there are (or should be) consequences for bad behaviour. Let's see if Trump is held to the same high standard as Will, for seditious crimes far worse than a global slap.
"The look on Smith's face - and I watched the video several times - was someone who was quite pleased with himself,"
There is so much bizarreness about Will's behaviour in those few moments. The fact that he was laughing initially, the insane decision to slap and swear at Chris Rock in front of the entire world, as you say, the smug walkaway. I thought about a follow-up article where I explored his motivations in more depth, but one celebrity article is about as much as I can stomach for the year. 😄
Thanks for posting this discussion. Like everyone else, I'm tired of the story but I enjoy it when you post thoughtful replies from your readers. Jay makes several good points. Also, it's a pretty fine example of how to disagree in public. Others should learn from this example.
I actually try to not know about the actors/actress's personal lives. When I watch a performance, my interest is in the story, and I appreciate it when their skill lets me completely forget who they are and focus completely on the character they portray. As a Vietnam veteran I'm supposed to despise Hanoi Jane. I actually think she is a very fine actress, and I can ignore the woman behind the actress's mask watching a movie that she is in.
The slap, and behavior after that by Smith and the audience was a mess, but I don't know any of them and what they do does not affect me. As you wrote in the end, better to be concerned with our own issues. But then there is no personal cost in criticizing the rich and famous so that's what we do.
I confess my perplexity that this checkout-counter press story merits a column in this fine blog. I hope it doesn't lead to Kardashian scandals or worse.
I'm not a fan of celebrity gossip either, but I'm okay with people writing about it if there's something relevant there. There was a lot to unpack from this story when it happened, and I wrote about it too.
I don't condone the violence, Jada's awful, chilling effect on comedians, blah blah disclaimer blah blah. Ok now that I've properly contextualized myself...
I thought the overreaction to the slap was extreme. The basic thing is, for me: if some dude's going to mock my partner's appearance, especially if that appearance is due to a disease, right in front of me (some balls there), and if that mockery is taking place at a public or semi-public place like a bar or a party or a work event or an awards gala... well, someone might get smacked. That's the risk they chose to take by mocking my partner in front of a bunch of people, including me and my partner. And I'll have to accept the consequences as well.
I have literally done this (although it was a shove, not a smack). And I'd do it again.
Not even a fan of Will Smith LOL.
"I thought the overreaction to the slap was extreme."
I thought the slap was extreme given the context. If this was two people in the street, or in a bar, or in countless other scenarios that weren't a live event watched by millions of people, I'd shrug my shoulders. I agree with you, if somebody insulted my partner, especially over a medical condition, they might get smacked too.
Bu there were roughly a bazillion better ways to handle this, some of which might even have included slapping Chris Rock at a more appropriate moment. Will turned a silly, throwaway moment into international news. He and Jada came out of it looking infinitely worse than Chris Rock did. And for what?
You make a solid point (you always do!) but I'm not so sure they came out looking infinitely worse. Certainly in the eyes of media especially Twitter. But to all of my pretty basic, apolitical-but-veering-conservative extended family composed of white people, black people, Filipino/as? (And many of my diverse colleagues as well.) The reaction was lots & lots of support for Will standing up for his lady. It really felt to me as if the anger against him sorta connected, in a rather fun way, both the woke & anti-woke folks with college degrees. Online, it felt like all the intelligentsia came out against the slap. But regular folks? Not so sure it made him look bad. I think many felt it made him look normal i.e. not a Hollywood type. And, in a strange way, I think this also connects to the populist appeal of Trump.
I'm of the "step out back" generation. If Smith thought it worthy of an ass kicking he could have done it back stage after the fact rather than disrupt and spoil the award show.
As for my thoughts on the slap itself. I don't think it was about Jada as much as it was about displaying the image of his manhood which he probably felt had suffered at the hands of Jada long before the night of the slap.
That last part about image of manhood suffering feels very true, from what I've gathered. Happy to say that I know very little about this couple other than what I've learned in a couple articles post-slap. It does sound like a lot of dirty laundry has been unnecessarily aired. But it also feels true from what I know about (and witnessed) how toxic relationships operate in general.
I wrote about this when it happened because there was so much going on here. I'm not at all convinced Will was entirely motivated by 'manhood', 'honour', and 'defending his woman'. Jada's eyeroll seemed disgusted at worst, it's not like she broke down in tears. The look on Smith's face - and I watched the video several times - was someone who was quite pleased with himself, who was all ego in that moment, which is why Denzel Washington uttered wisdom for the ages when he told Smith, "When you're at your peak, that's when the Devil comes for you." I get it - it's about that arrogance, that feeling you can do no wrong when you're in a particularly successful time in your life. I suspect just a few minutes after the incident he had that 'oh fuck' moment when he realized he'd fucked up supremely, which is why his Big Moment 45 minutes later was a lot less joyful for him than it might have been, because now everyone had had time to process what happened, he knew it too, and he went up there as a fucking idiot rather than a conquering Oscar hero.
I was quite disappointed in him because even though I'm not particularly a fan, I've always liked him as an actor and love the fact that he's a science & technology geek.
AFAIK Rock still hasn't apologized to Jada for his joke, whether he knew about her alopecia or not. The joke was cruel if he did and not so much if he thought it was a fashion statement, which is what I thought it was at first so I laughed at the joke. When I found out it was alopecia I realized why Rock got mad but I didn't think he should have done what he did.
I'm not that au courant with the details of the Smith marriage or what Jada is like as a person, but I did research alopecia a bit (I can certainly sympathize with someone suffering from this, one of my friends is too) and I learned that black women suffer from it especially although often they encourage it with those tight braids they favour. That's not good for the scalp and then led me down the rabbit hole of 'black women's hair' and how politicized it is and how it supposedly keeps them from better jobs. Quite educational, and I really don't give a damn why anyone's hair should be an issue unless it's an inhibitor of work in some way.
Anyway...my interest in the story was Smith's rank smug arrogance as he walked away, followed by his 'oh fuck' moment and not being terribly sympathetic when he got whacked with a 10-year ban. If he ever gets another award someone else will have to claim it for him. I agree with someone else here that it was probably an overreaction - maybe a five-year ban? - but I kind of like it because I hope it sends a message to America that there are (or should be) consequences for bad behaviour. Let's see if Trump is held to the same high standard as Will, for seditious crimes far worse than a global slap.
"The look on Smith's face - and I watched the video several times - was someone who was quite pleased with himself,"
There is so much bizarreness about Will's behaviour in those few moments. The fact that he was laughing initially, the insane decision to slap and swear at Chris Rock in front of the entire world, as you say, the smug walkaway. I thought about a follow-up article where I explored his motivations in more depth, but one celebrity article is about as much as I can stomach for the year. 😄
Thanks for posting this discussion. Like everyone else, I'm tired of the story but I enjoy it when you post thoughtful replies from your readers. Jay makes several good points. Also, it's a pretty fine example of how to disagree in public. Others should learn from this example.
I actually try to not know about the actors/actress's personal lives. When I watch a performance, my interest is in the story, and I appreciate it when their skill lets me completely forget who they are and focus completely on the character they portray. As a Vietnam veteran I'm supposed to despise Hanoi Jane. I actually think she is a very fine actress, and I can ignore the woman behind the actress's mask watching a movie that she is in.
The slap, and behavior after that by Smith and the audience was a mess, but I don't know any of them and what they do does not affect me. As you wrote in the end, better to be concerned with our own issues. But then there is no personal cost in criticizing the rich and famous so that's what we do.
I confess my perplexity that this checkout-counter press story merits a column in this fine blog. I hope it doesn't lead to Kardashian scandals or worse.
I'm not a fan of celebrity gossip either, but I'm okay with people writing about it if there's something relevant there. There was a lot to unpack from this story when it happened, and I wrote about it too.