“No Laughing Matter: Will Smith, Chris Rock, and Comedic Controversy”
Multi-hyphenate entertainer Will Smith recently made headlines during the taping of the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony, upon actor and comedian Chris Rock’s utterance of a comparison joke between Smith’s wife and fellow entertainer Jada Pinkett Smith and the popular film G.I Jane, Smith preceded to walk up on stage, slap Rock, sit down and told Rock to refrain from speaking about Pinkett Smith. Smith, who later received the Academy Award for Best Actor that evening for his performance in King Richard, was later comforted and condemned for his actions immediately following the incident.
The Academy Award and Grammy winning actor recently made headlines again by resigning from the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences. Writers Nicole Sterling and Matt Stevens, in their 2022 article for The New York Times, “Will Smith Resigns From Academy After Slapping Chris Rock At Oscars”, writes, “Will Smith, who slapped the comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars, said Friday that he was resigning from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, saying that he had ‘betrayed’ its trust with conduct that was ‘shocking, painful, and inexcusable’… ‘I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work,’ he said in the statement, ‘I am heartbroken’.”
This news comes after conflicting headlines from news sources alike have reported everything from Smith being asked to leave following the event to him and his family’s opinions of the matter, ranging from his wife to his son and to even his daughter. Nevertheless, all commentaries agreed that the incident was predicted to be and soon became overblown.
What’s interesting is that the incident sparked a discourse on the fine line of comedy. Rock’s joke that characterizes Pinkett-Smith’s bald head because of her dealing with the autoimmune disease alopecia as a gimmick for a film was largely seen as an inopportune time, sparking debate from fellow comedians.
Writer Emily Yahr, in her 2022 article for The Washington Post, “Comedians Are Still Rattled By The Oscars Slap”, writes, “comedians quickly started to wonder about what would happen the next time they made a joke that someone found insensitive or infuriating. Backlash and boos are one thing; a physical altercation is another… shortly after the incident, comedians leaped to Rock’s defense and voiced concerns about their safety: ‘Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters,” Kathy Griffin tweeted…Hari Kondabolu tweeted: “As a comedian, watching Will Smith storm the stage & smack Chris Rock was terrifying. I’ve certainly worried about an audience member attacking me before.”
Comedy is no stranger to controversy. But in the era of social media and cancel culture, public figures such as Will Smith and Chris Rock aren’t able to get away from either so easy.
