When I found that it was real I thought that Smith must have taken offense to a Rock joke about Smith's apparent open marriage with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Jada Pinkett Smith has done the do with at least one man not named Will Smith while still being married to Will Smith.
But that wasn't was set Will Smith off last night, although the actress Regina Hall made a joke cracking on the Smith couple for precisely that reason.
Now I didn't think that Rock's joke was that funny. I didn't think it was offensive. It just didn't make me laugh. But is it something worth assaulting someone over. I think not.
Jada Pinkett Smith is not the first actress to be mocked, gently or otherwise, at an industry event.
No what evidently made Smith so angry that he assaulted Chris Rock was that Chris Rock made a joke claiming that Jada Pinkett Smith was getting ready for a sequel to GI Jane, a film in which the lead actress, Demi Moore, famously shaved her head. Jada Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia and has apparently decided to keep a buzzcut.
Now I didn't think that Rock's joke was that funny. I didn't think it was offensive. It just didn't make me laugh. But is it something worth assaulting someone over. I think not.
Comedians and Oscar hosts have publicly gone after celebrities' sexuality, looks, weight, revealing clothing, preferences in men or women, divorces, marriages, politics, spouses, real or alleged casting couch experiences, subservience to certain directors, agents, or producers, substance or domestic abuse issues, decisions to appear nude or topless in film or magazines, intelligence, career choices, wealth or lack thereof, and several other personal characteristics or traits that many people, myself included, would consider WAY off-limits for non-family or non-intimates.
But none of those people, myself included, are multi-millionaire actors or models who live a public life and are invited to the Oscars. So that's the price of admission to the party.
A stone face and some quiet words backstage with Rock or the producers of last night's show would have been the appropriate response.
Imagine that a Hollywood studio head or perhaps someone built like Jon Cena or Dwayne Johnson instead of the slightly built Rock had made the same joke. Would Smith have assaulted that man? I think not. We shouldn't normalize the idea that a comedian should expect to be assaulted whenever he makes a joke that someone bigger than him, physically or otherwise, doesn't like.
And I think it's really dangerous to believe that men, Black men in particular, should be attack dogs any time a woman in their life gets her feelings hurt. There are too many people in jail, prison, or six feet under for me to believe in that foolishness. Yes, there are times when violence is justified. No, a lame joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair is not one of those times.
