By now, we’ve all seen the little tiff that happened at the Oscars on Sunday (27), with Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Chris Rock. “Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see you,” Chris Rock quipped, appearing to refer to Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Cut to Pinkett Smith’s unimpressed and understandably upset face. This was promptly followed by an enraged Will Smith taking to the stage to deliver a light slap to Rock, angered by the insult to his wife. Now, this “golden” moment has established itself as the meme of the month and has been circulating social media the last few days, with fans and haters alike all sharing their two cents.
Following this altercation, in a post on Instagram on Monday (28) afternoon, Smith called his behaviour “unacceptable and inexcusable”. “Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” he wrote. “I would like to publicly apologise to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
Smith added in his post that: “Violence in all forms is poisonous and destructive”. He also included in his note an apology to “the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees, and everyone watching around the world”, as well as the family of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams and those involved with the film for which he won his Best Actor award on Sunday (27).
There was an apology circulating on social media that claimed it was from Chris, but was promptly denied by his company as unofficial and claims to not have been penned by Chris. So as of now, the comedian has yet to apologise for what seems to be a hurtful joke.
Brunch took to the people of the internet and professionals from the entertainment industry to figure out what the verdict was.
Violence is not a way of showing love
Brunch reached out to comedian duo Blok and Dino to understand their take on the situation. Gehan Blok shared his opinion stating: “It was a joke. If you’re Will Smith attending the Oscars, you should know that at the show, you’re bound to get roasted. I don’t think Rock knew what Smith’s wife was going through – Smith seemed to have some pent up anger from some other demons he was battling which came out in this form,” he said, referring to Smith’s post where he had stated: “I deeply regret that my behaviour has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us. I am a work in progress.”
Blok added that what Smith did was worse than Chris’ joke. “He could’ve gone on stage, taken the mic and made a joke in rebuttal to Chris’ joke and people would have admired him for the way he handled it,” he said. He also shared that he had seen posts from the Black community claiming that white America will think that Blacks are barbarians and have to resort to violence to sort issues, which will then paint a bad narrative.
Sharing his thoughts, Dino added: “There was no reason to have resorted to violence; there was definitely a better way to handle it. With comedy, you’re bound to ruffle a few feathers.” He even shared his personal experience, where he’d been in Chris’ shoes and even received death threats for certain jokes, which he deems normal, and added that his jokes were always made in a setting where people came for comedy and being roasted was expected.
He further pointed out: “You shouldn’t go with your primal instincts when dealing with a situation. It’s very dangerous to put forward this perception that violence is a way of showing love because when you look at domestic abuse, many stay in toxic relationships because they believe violence is a show of affection, which is wrong.”
They both believe that, for Smith, this award was a big moment in his career, and this behaviour took away from his achievement and stained a lot of others’ big moments as well.
The situation called for professionalism
Local entrepreneur Dinushka J. Fernando strongly believes that if Chris Rock knew why Jada’s head was shaved, that joke was just cruel. While she understands that comedy is at times a harsh truth, it doesn’t mean everyone can laugh at the jokes. “Will Smith used violence as his solution to a joke that he laughed at as well – or maybe he was still laughing at the previous joke,” she observed, referring to the clip of the scene where Smith was seen to have expressed amusement, adding that it’s still not the way to address a situation. “There are so many other ways to solve problems without resorting to violence,” she stated.
Information technology (IT) programmer Sandesh Lakdewa observed that since Smith himself has been a comedian, he could have very simply just made a funny retort that diffused the situation. “It was possible to use his words to make Chris Rock understand that he was in the wrong. By getting on stage to hit him, he shifted the spotlight towards himself and effectively prevented any proper discussion over whether it is wrong to make fun of another person’s medical condition no matter how mild the joke,” he shared.
Apologies are necessary
Sharing the perspective of an entertainer, Rohan de Lanerolle stated: “I know Will Smith has publicly made an apology but I see nothing wrong in what he did as it was directed at his wife who is diagnosed with a condition.” He added that it’s sad that people who are so-called “respected” including some religious heads even in church don’t know what to say where as everything is said in the context of a joke. “What people need to know is that it can be hurtful to the recipient. In this case it should be the comedian who should make an apology to Will Smith’s wife,” he stated.
Administration officer Milan Lu, referring to Smith’s apology, stated: “This apology is necessary. Slapping people on a public stage is not the answer. If Chris presses charges for assault, it will be justified.” However, she also added that making jokes about a person’s medical condition is also a horrible thing and Chris should apologise properly
for that joke. She shared that the world has decided they want to take sides in this matter, but emphasised that it’s possible to condemn both sides for doing and saying horrible things. “Neither one of them is right, here,” she added.
University student Kalindu Herath too, agreed with the previous sentiment. “I strongly think they both were in the wrong,” he stated, explaining that Rock’s joke was tasteless and cruel, and highlighted that as a professional at such a prestigious award show, Smith should have known better and handled the situation in a professional manner. “I think Will Smith should have remained calm in the moment and handled it calmly, but Chris definitely needs to issue an apology for his joke. It seems that comedy has gone from being funny to simply hurtful and lame,” he added.
Keeping aside all the memes and infighting that the internet is going through, this situation seems to have opened a much needed discussion on comedians nowadays and whether their jokes are funny anymore. Gone are the days when anyone could call themselves a comedian by simply insulting another person. Perhaps it’s time those in the field start coming up with original jokes, either at their expense, or nothing at all.
