No one expected the events that occurred at the Oscars this year. One may even call it, the slap heard around the world. What happened between Will Smith and Chris Rock essentially disregarded all of Will Smith’s previous accomplishments and successes in the eyes of others. There have been mixed feelings about what went down, most of which has been backlash towards him. Jon Caramanica host of the Popcast podcast at the NY Times and guest star Soraya Nadia McDonald from Andscape discuss Will Smith before these events and his performances as an actor. “Mid 90s Will Smith like really up to, I wanna say, probably up til Ali, is Will Smith the superhero, unconquerable, no flaws in the armor. How unusual and how radical at that time was it to have a highly bankable Black superhero A-list star?” Jon Caramanica says. In his podcast, they discuss how successful Will Smith has been and how much of an impact on others he has had with his performances and in Hollywood. So, what happened at the Oscars? Chris Rock is known to make jokes that are not necessarily funny and instead are offensive and come at people’s health or appearance, something which they have no control over. When he made one about Jada Smith, Will Smith’s wife, Will did not like this. Will Smith’s reaction was to stand up for his wife but the way that he in which he did it has received a lot of backlash. Rather than communicating with words, Will Smith turned to violence, slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. Many people have since spoken up about their feelings regarding the incident. Matthew Belloni, former editor of the Hollywood Reporter said that “I think it’s underplayed how embarrassing this is for many academy members. This is their identity. This is their business. This is their craft. And they care a lot about the Oscars” (The Washington Post). On the other hand, there are others like Tiffany Haddish who stand by Will Smith. “The slap was the most beautiful thing I ever seen because it made me believe that there are still men out there that love and care about their women, their wives” (The Washington Post). In the end, Will Smith received punishment for his actions. “The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said on Friday that Will Smith would be barred from attending the Oscars for 10 years because of the ‘harmful behavior’ he displayed when he struck the comedian Chris Rock during last month’s ceremony” (The New York Times). Not only did Will Smith’s actions have an impact on his career, they also have an impact on what others choose to believe about him. These events are more than likely to be used by others as a way of justifying racism and claiming how “violent” Black people are. Additionally, Will Smith will no longer be known as a “Black superhero A-list star” as Jon Caramanica mentioned earlier. He will now he know for slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.
Andrews, Travis M. “The Industry - and the Academy - Are Torn on How to Handle Will Smith's Oscars Slap.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 29 Mar. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/03/29/will-smith….
Sperling, Nicole. “Will Smith Barred from Attending Oscars for 10 Years after Slap.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Apr. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/movies/will-smith-slap-academy.html.
“Will Smith, before the Slap.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Apr. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/21/arts/music/popcast-will-smith.html.