Seems like Kanye is getting a break from being the butt of the joke for a while because surprisingly, Will Smith is Black people’s newest embarrassment.
Yes, it was embarrassing. To result to violence on the biggest night of your career after fighting so hard for an inclusive Oscars. It’s sad and truly appalling that someone with so much discipline had no forethought in that moment. How will this affect my career? My family? My legacy? But I can see where if he thought he was defending his wife none of this crossed his mind. He blacked out and did what production told him to do he thought he had to do.
Now while it was embarrassing and wholeheartedly heartbreaking to witness, that ish was funny. Everything about it. The joke, the fact Will used an open hand, the cursing. It was like I was watching Kanye interrupt Taylor at the 2009 VMAs all over again. In both situations, truth was exposed that hurt people. In 2009, Kanye wasn’t wrong. Beyonce did have a better video than Taylor Swift. Just like Chris Rock wasn’t wrong at The Oscars. Jada Pinkett Smith is bald. Gorgeous. But also bald like G.I Jane. Whether or not he knew she had alopecia is another story. Even if he did I think, for me it was a tame jab to be expected at The Oscars. It wasn’t like he was calling her ugly cause Demi Moore was beautiful, strong and empowering as G.I Jane.
And honestly, when you think about the headlines Will and Jada have made in the last couple of years and how funny Chris Rock is, the joke should have been much worse. An entanglement joke perhaps. And if you look at previous Oscars, comedians have gone after attendees and it’s hilarious. All part of the job as Will mentioned in his acceptance speech.
By now, we’ve all seen the Smiths and Chris Rock possibly have beef from 2016 when Chris joked that Jada had no place at the Oscars. It was a funny joke and very true. She hadn’t had a successful movie in years at that point. And the only thing of note since that I can think of was Girl’s Trip.
Anyway, fast forward a few years and we have Will Smith slapping Chris Rock for joking about Jada’s alopecia which she has openly talked about the past couple of years. Chris said he, “can’t wait to see Jada in G.I. Jane 2”, suggesting she looked like Demi Moore in the 1997 film. I don’t know about ya’ll but Demi Moore was smoking hot in this movie so I didn’t understand what was so offensive. It was meant in jest. A joke. Haha. I’m bald. G.I. Jane is bald. Move on.
Listen I get that Jada has a condition to make her lose her hair and that the joke could have touched a nerve for her. But for Will to go on stage and assault this man. It was a bad look. After all that fighting we did to be recognized at The Oscars for you to go and do this. It’s just disrespectful.
It’s all so sad because Will Smith ended up winning the Oscar for Best Actor and nobody is talking about what an accomplishment that was. Nobody is talking about the story of Richard Williams. It’s all about WIll going on stage acting a plum fool on international television.
We’re missing key highlights from the show like how Lady Gaga presented with the ailing Liza Milleni and was so gentle with her, whispering, “I got you” as Liza fumbled with her cue cards. Samuel L. Jackson won his first Oscar as well. So many special moments we could be talking about. But instead, we’re here, writing about how Hollywood’s golden boy risked it all in a heated moment. I get it. He’s human and we’ve put him on a pedestal for far too long. We can’t let one moment define someone but we have to hold him accountable. Assault is not okay.
*Scratch this entire post if this was all a PR stunt. Cause yes, I believe there’s truth to the conspiracy theories lmao. Where are the photos of Will’s hand making contact with Chris Rock’s face? They don’t exist. That’s another post for another day. K, bye.