Will Smith punches Chris Rock at the Academy Award Ceremony
Actor Will Smith’s first Oscar award for the movie ‘King Richard’ made him famous not for the award but for slapping Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith. The most talked-about moment was when Rock was presenting the Oscar for best documentary feature and made an insensitive joke as most comedians do. He joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s lack of hair. Pinkett Smith shaved her head recently because she has alopecia, a health condition that has no cure and causes hair loss, which she’s been very transparent about.
Rather than headlines highlighting Will Smith’s first Oscar win, news outlets and social media feeds are flooded with videos of the disputes and memes making a mockery of Smith slapping Chris Rock on live television.
Will Smith told the audience that the role that he played of Richard Williams who brought up his three step-daughters, and his two daughters, Venus and Serena whom he aspires to turn into professional tennis players respects his wife Brandy and all daughters. Richard William is a gentleman for whom his family is his first priority. Richard Williams is mindful about what he says, of what he talks to his family members, the way he addresses them and encourages them to rise in life. Since Smith won an award for playing Richard Williams, he has imbibed characteristics of Richard. Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in “King Richard” marked William Smith’s first Oscar win in his three decade career as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
Comedian Chris Rock body shamed Jada – William Smith’s wife’s bald head. Body shaming is the act of saying something negative about a person’s body size, height, age, hair, clothes, and food habits anything. Body shaming manifests in many ways. The mocking is painful about a person’s physical appearance. Chris Rock’s joke was crass. Though the fact is plenty of body shaming is blatant, even when it comes from a seemingly well-meaning place. Most netizens have criticized the act of Smith slapping Rocks as violence.
This is not the first time Chris Rock humiliated Smith; back in 2016, when Rock hosted the Oscars, he made a joke about William Smith and wife Jada for not attending due to the #OscarsSoWhite boycott, the hash tag war was started for addressing the lack of diversity in nominations at the Oscars. In January 2016 all 20 acting nominations for the year’s Academy Awards were given to white actors.
I think comedians must know where to draw lines while doing jokes or comedy on any person; whether it’s religion, age, financial health, affairs, position in society, success, failure, and body shaming any of these. Offensive comedy is an oxymoron. Some take it literally. Often comedy hurts the receiver’s sentiments. Laughing at the cost of some else’s sentiments is not cool. One may argue that if one gets offended then he/she shouldn’t come to attend such shows. But how would that person know that an ugly joke will be cracked about him/her and to what extend since no disclaimer is provided before. Free speech does not mean that someone can be run down.
Star-studded red carpets and power-packed shows are hosted by top notch actors and famous personalities. It is okay little pulling of leg and teasing that happens, which everyone is expected to take sportingly. Many a time, certain jokes and the reactions thereafter, create headlines and becomes part of the history of award shows. In one such event video which features Neil Nitin Mukesh, Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan in it. In the video, which was probably scripted, Shaharukh and Saif tease Neil asking him about his surname. To this, Neil replied back saying, “That is an insult for me actually. It’s not right that… I think you haven’t seen my father sitting out here also. I think it is ridiculous on both of you all to ask a question like this. I personally find this as an insult. I think you guys just need to shut up ya.” In fact after this event Neil Nitin Mukesh’s career has dipped.
According to new polling, 3 in 5 Americans disapproved of Will Smith’s slapping of Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards after a poorly received joke about Smith. But there are some groups of people that think Rock was wrong than Smith in the altercation at the Oscars ceremony. More than half of those surveyed in a new poll said the comedian Rock was in the wrong when he joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head at the Oscars and it is not a fault of actor Will Smith for slapping Rock. 52.3% of people blamed Rock for the incident.
No person with a positive self-esteem will ever tolerate poor jokes on him or his family; self-esteem is not just liking your-self but generally affording yourself love, value, dignity, and respect. A person’s self-esteem is made up of his/her views of all the things that define him/her as a person which includes his/her personality, accomplishments, talents, capabilities, background, experiences, relationships, and physical body. It is about how a person perceives himself and his persona.
In my opinion William Smith is right as he stood for his wife’s dignity. He is a real hero!
