TV Talk: Will Smith’s ego steals the spotlight from award winners

When the Academy has to say that it does not condone violence at its ceremony, you know something has gone terribly wrong.

Chris Rock joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head at the Oscars Sunday night, saying he looked forward to seeing her in “G.I. Jane 2” (“G.I. Jane” starred Demi Moore sporting a shaved head.) Pinkett Smith grimaced and her husband, Will Smith, hopped on stage and slapped Rock across the face before returning to his seat and yelling, “Keep my wife’s name out of your [expletive-ing] mouth!”

Some viewers think the whole thing was staged. It wasn’t. The testimony from witnesses in the Dolby Theatre and Rock’s stunned reaction are proof enough. Rock can be a good actor — see “Fargo,” season four — but he’s not that good; his whole persona dropped away immediately after he took the hit.

Internet commenters rewound the incident and re-watched clips like it was the Zapruder film, noticing that Smith first seems to laugh at Rock’s joke, then sees his wife’s withering response and decides to confront Rock with an open-hand slap. Smith also smirks as he walks back to his seat after the slap.

Smith’s ego and need to satisfy his wife’s glare led him to upstage all the awards that followed the slap. It was impossible to concentrate on the in memoriam or the wins for “Summer of Soul” as best documentary or “CODA,” written and directed by 1999 Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama grad Sian Heder, as best picture. Smith’s violent petulance will permanently overshadow the winners — to say nothing of Smith’s own win.

Smith could have chosen any number of responses — knowing he was likely to win the best actor Oscar as the favorite in the field, he could have shamed Rock in his acceptance speech — but he chose the one incorrect option: violence. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

Related:

• TV Talk: Oscars rebound from 2021 disaster, then derailed by a slap
• Will Smith dances with family after Oscar win, shocking slap

Some who applaud Smith’s assault of Rock — and, yes, it was assault — make the assumption that Rock knew Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, which is why she was sporting a bald look. Or maybe, as I did, Rock thought it was a fashion choice. In the latter context, it’s a pretty mild — some would even say stale — joke.

Even assuming Rock knew about her medical condition, since when does that entitle one person to assault another? There’s no legal carve out for that. If you don’t like a comedian’s joke at a comedy club and you assault the comic, odds are good you’ll land in jail.

Smith’s weak-tea apology made matters worse. He tried to excuse the act by comparing himself to the character he played in “King Richard,” Richard Williams, father of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams, who was “a fierce defender of his family.”

“Art imitates life. … I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things,” Smith said.

“I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees,” Smith said, pointedly not apologizing to Rock, who declined to press charges against Smith.

So just to be clear, Hollywood, which has taken a strong stand in the #MeToo movement against harassment and physical harm perpetuated by people in power, let this one slide.

And then applauded Smith when he won the best actor trophy. And then welcomed Smith to the after-parties.

“It’s been a beautiful night,” Smith told The Hollywood Reporter at one party.

And how did the Academy of Motion Picture Arts Sciences respond? With its own weak statement: “The Academy does not condone violence of any form.”

In 2018, in response to the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the Academy created standards of conduct that encourages “respect for human dignity, inclusion, and a supportive environment that fosters creativity. There is no place in the Academy for people who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates recognized standards of decency. The Academy is categorically opposed to any form of abuse, harassment or discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, age, religion, or nationality. The Board of Governors believes that these standards are essential to the Academy’s mission and reflective of our values.”

It certainly seems like Smith violated those standards. Some suggest he should have to relinquish his best actor Oscar but given that the Academy opted not to remove him from the auditorium — a privilege that wouldn’t extend to you or me in that situation — it seems unlikely there will be consequences for Smith’s actions.