Hollywood Goes to Mr. Smith
We rarely pay attention to commentary today; we’re too preoccupied with comments. At least that is what I run to when popular culture erupts into controversy, as it did during the live broadcast of the 94th annual Academy Awards when Will Smith interrupted the ceremony to unceremoniously slap Chris Rock across the face. The inciting incident for this short narrative was a vanilla joke Rock lobbed at Jada Pinkett Smith about her military style coiffe. “Love you, Jada. Can’t wait for G.I. Jane 2!” he jibed. Seconds after chuckling at the joke himself, Smith, most likely goaded by Jada’s visible disdain, approached the stage, and initiated the slap that launched a thousand memes.
The aftershock, in my opinion, had a greater magnitude than the initial one, as the home audience watched Hollywood’s royalty observe the code of conduct they observe when they are in the public eye but out of character: Lights, camera, inaction. In an era when people are “canceled” for microaggressions, the world witnessed a physical macroaggression get a complete pass from Hollywood’s dukes and duchesses. Bradley Cooper, Denzel Washington, and others immediately took it upon themselves to coddle Mr. Smith’s bruised ego seconds after he bruised Chris Rock’s face. To add insult to injury, many of those Hollywood elites gave Smith a standing ovation when he accepted his award for Best Actor. Mr. Smith’s speech, rife with tears and emotional depth, proved one thing: he deserved the award.
If there is one thing I’ve learned from the sidelines of the Internet, expressing outrage over outrage is, in and of itself, outrageous. You inevitably wind up becoming the very thing you’re trying to expose. That said, I’m always comforted by the evidence of this axiom. Someone posts a link to Roxanne Gay’s take on the scene titled “Jada Pinkett Smith Shouldn’t Have to ‘Take a joke.’ Neither Should You.” A woman subsequently responds, “No! Violence is never the answer.” Another woman responds to that comment. “As a fellow white woman, I suggest you sit this one out and stay in your lane.” Every thread I open inevitably descends into a similar series of clap backs, self-righteous moralizing, and whataboutisms. There are no victories, even pyrrhic ones.
Chris Rock has long been a cultural critic of Black America. When Jussie Smollett’s staged hate crime was first exposed, Rock was the one who held the conch shell at the BET Awards and got into it. Saying that he was explicitly told beforehand “No Jussie Smollett jokes,” he immediately went into a few, kicking off with “What a waste of light skin!” Boom. That’s the genius of Chris Rock. There is so much to unpack in those six words about our country and the struggles within the struggles. Above all, it still manages to be hilarious.
But why Jada Pinkett Smith? I can think of a few reasons, but I’ll follow that rando white woman’s sage advice and stay in my lane. I will say that Rock has always been a keen observer of celebrity culture, joyfully taking it down a notch. There’s something to every itch he scratches. On the most basic level, though, a universal truth must be acknowledged. There is a certain inversion to fame that celebrities should expect by now. The more famous someone becomes, the riper for ridicule they become. That is Newton’s Fourth Law of Physics.
In her column, Gay opposes this principle: “Famous women such as Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, Amanda Bynes, Janet Jackson, Monica Lewinsky and Meghan Markle have been pushed to the edge by such scrutiny and the unreasonable expectation that they thicken their skin to derision, disrespect, insults and jokes.” Perhaps. But isn’t that the price of admission to the fame club? Some can take it, and some can’t. That’s the unfortunate reality. Life’s inescapable duality demands that there must be some drawbacks for all the perks.
Mr. Smith will likely face no real consequences for his actions. He was caught dancing and rapping to his own hit songs at the Oscars afterparty. For a lesser-known individual, his actions would’ve spelled instant career death. This won’t happen to Mr. Smith for the same reason Morgan Stanley is still around — he’s too big to fail. Get ready for the rehabilitation tour. Despite Roxanne Gay’s thesis, I guarantee the upshot of this tour will be about “taking a joke.” And I’m sure Rock will be game. No matter how mad he might be now, he recognizes there is more value in reconciliation. His coincidentally-named “Ego Death Tour” saw tickets skyrocketing in the days since the slap.
What will it look like? Let’s see…perhaps Chris Rock will host the next Academy Awards and a re-enactment with Will Smith will turn into a dance number. Perhaps Will Smith will present an award as Chris Rock sits in the front row next to Jada. These are plausible, but the Academy probably wants to move on. More likely, if I were to really peer into the crystal ball of obviousness, you will find Mr. Smith as the honoree of an upcoming Comedy Central Roast, and it will be hosted, of course, by none other than Chris Rock. Hooray for Hollywood.
