Daily Herald opinion: Will Smith tarnished his crown with attack on Chris Rock
This editorial represents the consensus opinion of The Daily Herald Editorial Board.
In the last moments of what could have been a rather predictable Academy Awards show, the big-hearted “CODA” won best picture. But the historic victory of this inclusive underdog — led by a mostly deaf cast — was overshadowed by a gesture more in line with the theme of its biggest rival: the toxic masculinity of “The Power of the Dog.”
Earlier in the night, comedian Chris Rock cracked a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. Will Smith, her husband and a best actor nominee, initially laughed. Then, he created his own ugly chapter in Oscar history when he strode onto the stage, slapped Rock and screamed “Leave my wife's name out of your (expletive) mouth.”
The move was so shocking that many thought it was staged. The truth was simpler, and more disturbing: It was assault.
Rock's joke was tasteless. No question. He took aim at a woman with alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss. Yet we all would have forgotten his cheap shot quickly had Will Smith not used an audience of millions — on a night that would give him his first Academy Award win — to punish Rock for dissing his wife.
Many a bar brawl has been started by a hotheaded husband or boyfriend rushing to protect his turf or “defend” a woman's honor. Smith's actions Sunday might have come from the same primal place, but they took on far greater meaning for the scope of their reach.
Roles as the Genie in “Aladdin” and the wisecracking agent in “Men In Black” have given Smith a huge following among kids, yet he certainly didn't think of the example he set for them when he struck Rock and upstaged everything that came later — including the documentary win for “Summer of Soul,” Amir “Questlove” Thompson's ode to the long-overlooked 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival.
Most actors would have frowned, fumed and taken the matter up later. That's what Smith, a seasoned Hollywood veteran, should have done.
In accepting the Oscar for his role in “King Richard,” Smith apologized to the academy. But at the same time, he tried to justify his conduct as a fierce father protecting his family, much like the subject of his film. “Love will make you do crazy things,” he said.
Smith issued a statement Monday apologizing to Rock and others. “My behavior at last night's Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable,” he wrote. “Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.”
He was right to apologize, but the motion picture academy needs to follow through on its pledge to investigate. Members need to answer some key questions: Should Smith have been allowed to stay in his center-stage seat and collect his trophy after slapping Rock? What message do they want to send viewers who already view the Oscars as a party for the pampered and the privileged?
If a nominee for best animated short, for example, had rushed the stage and taken a swing at a presenter, he would have been escorted out of the theater — not given a platform to explain his actions. And perhaps he might have had the humility not to dance with his Oscar after.