If you missed it, I’m not sure what to tell you. All I know is I was about to forget to watch the whole thing when I was like, “OMG the Oscars are today. Crap, I didn’t watch the beginning. Didn’t even post about it. I’m slipping.” And without anything else to watch or do last night, I threw together a post with a link to the list of winners & switched on the show. Shortly thereafter Chris Rock made a lame joke about Jada Pinket Pinkett Smith’s hair. She’s sporting a buzz cut these days in part because she suffers from alopecia and wants to be more natural with her look. Good for her, right? I thought so too but then last night Chris Rock came for her hair and to top it off, he did it with a lame joke. It felt unnecessary, especially since JPS has been pretty vocal about how insecure the change in her appearance has made her feel at times. Unfortunately, Will Smith’s unhinged reaction via the slap heard ‘round the world was also completely unnecessary.
Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock In The Face On Oscars Stage After Jab At Wife Jada Pinkett’s Appearance - deadline.com
Last night, when I ran to social media to see what people were saying about the infamous Oscar slap, I read something that fully encapsulated how I felt about what I’d just seen transpire on my TV.
Michael Harriott @michaelharriot
Will Smith & Chris Rock just explained my position on micro aggressions, white people saying the n-word and the entire concept of free speech.
Everyone should have the absolute right to say whatever they want.
But you can’t then restrict people’s reactions to what you said.
That’s it exactly. I’ve said something similar since I can remember:
You can say whatever the fuck you want, whenever you want just be prepared to take a punch for it because you never know who you’re talking to or what kind of day they’ve been having.
I say this with confidence because I’ve totally been slapped and/or suffered other immediate and sever consequences for saying something that angered another person in the room. I’ve paid for what I have said (and written) with slaps, fights, firings, detentions, etc..
Learning how to control our reactions is probably one of the most important lessons in this life. And it’s pretty humbling to see that no matter who we are, we all trip up as we try to sort it all out. I hope we can all agree however that it is not ever OK to run up on anyone and physically assault someone. I’m glad Will Smith has apologized directly to Chris Rock. And I’m glad Rock showed such poise post slap.