Will Smith, Between a Rock and a Hard Place

On Sunday, March 27th, 2022, well known American actor, rapper, and film producer Will Smith caused quite the commotion at the Oscars this year when he had a physical altercation with comedian Chris Rock onstage. Following a quip Rock had made about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, the actor walked onto stage and slapped the comedian across the face before returning to his seat. 

Rock had joked, “Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait,”– a comment referencing her alopecia for which she shaved her head and comparing this to Demo Moore, who had shaved her head for her lead role in the film “G.I. Jane. Once Will Smith returned to his seat, he angrily shouted, ” keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth.” 

While this tense event surprised both Chris Rock and the audience, Rock would quickly recover and deliver the award for best documentary. Later that night, Will Smith won the Oscar for best actor for his role as “Richard Williams” in the critically acclaimed film “King Richard”. During his acceptance speech, Will Smith tearfully apologized to the audience members and the academy, but notably left Chris Rock out of his apology. In his speech Smith spoke about the culture of Hollywood saying, “In this business you got to be able to have people disrespecting you, and you got to smile and pretend like that’s OK.”

The following day, the Academy released a public statement denouncing Will Smith’s actions at the awards ceremony, and revealed the actor had refused to leave even after the organization had asked him to leave the venue. Will Smith shared his reflection on his actions of the night prior and posted an extended apology on his social media. In his posts Will Smith wrote, “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,” seemingly regretting and apologetic of his harsh slap. This time, he sincerely apologized to Chris Rock, stating “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong.”

While individuals on the internet have rushed to take sides either further condemning Will Smith’s actions or defending him, some are skeptical whether or not the situation was really authentic. Citing the dwindling attention and viewership of the Oscars in recent years, some believe that the shocking interaction between the two large public figures was completely planned as a publicity stunt to draw attention. Starting in 2014 with the exception of 2019, the Academy Awards ceremonies have reportedly continuously garnered fewer and fewer viewers every year with only 10.4 million viewers in 2021, the lowest in decades. While this recent event has put the Oscars back in the spotlight, it is unclear if this theory has any concrete evidence supporting it. 

Critics of Will Smith have dug up an old video of him from his 1991 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show. In the clip, Will Smith makes a joke about a man with alopecia, “He’s got to wax his head every morning.” After the audience voiced their disapproval of the insensitive remark, Will Smith retorts back saying “It’s a joke. Come on.”

Many have pointed out the extreme similarity between the two events and commented on the evident hypocrisy. 

On Friday, April 1st, 2022, Will Smith announced that he would be resigning from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Citing that he had “betrayed” the trust of the Academy, Will Smith somberly stated that he was “heartbroken” over his actions and is “committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.” The Academy has since accepted his resignation and will move forward with disciplinary proceedings for Will Smith during their next board meeting on April 18th. While being in the Academy does not mean Will Smith is no longer eligible for awards, he has lost the ability to participate in Academy screenings and events, and may not vote in the Academy Awards. 

Written by Steven Wang of Montgomery Blair High School

Image courtesy of Robyn Beck via Getty Images