Will Smith Slap: We need to talk about the Chris Rock joke urgently

opinion

It reminds me of school days long gone. At school one often encounters the phenomenon: whoever cries is right! However, the most important point of any conflict is often forgotten, namely that an action can be followed by a reaction. Such was the case at this year’s Oscars, when comedian Chris Rock cracked a joke at the expense of Will Smith’s ailing wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, in front of an audience of millions. In front of the same audience of millions, Will Smith gave him a slap in the face: no more “funny” for the comedian.

The reaction of violence, of course, is in no way to be tolerated or appropriate. We all agree on that. But somehow lost in the worldwide hubbub surrounding Will Smith’s attack is how off the mark the joke really was. Normally, the social media police would violently condemn and exploit this type of body shaming of a sick woman, Pinkett Smith suffers from patchy hair loss. If Will Smith hadn’t overreacted so much that everyone is talking about him. Without the slap, there could have been a media smear campaign against the comedian Chris Rock, because that’s how problems are clarified in our age and attention is drawn to grievances.

Following the incident, Will Smith apologized onstage just minutes later as he won his third Oscar. He apologized to everyone involved, except for Chris Rock, who he was still mad at. Rock, on the other hand, was silent, is said to have only apologized to Oscar presenter Wanda Sykes at an after-show party that he was sorry that his joke was all about him and no longer about the moderation of the three hostesses. Sykes recently reported this on the “Ellen DeGeneres Talk Show”, according to the .

Where is Chris Rock’s apology?

Chris Rock has yet to publicly apologize to the family for the totally inappropriate joke. Furthermore, the media often forgets the fact that the rock gag was not told in the rehearsals and was therefore not discussed with the organizers. All that transpired was that Rock was unaware of his wife’s illness – but is that enough to make a live joke about someone at a global event, or does it take a little research for a professional comedian to create his material?

Will Smith, on the other hand, apologized extensively to the comedian the next day via Instagram for his act of violence. Likewise, the three-time Oscar winner punished himself and resigned his Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences membership and associated Oscar voting rights. But the consequences don’t stop, now Netflix and Sony are putting projects and films with the film star, which was celebrated until the incident, on hold. Chris Rock, on the other hand, is already joking to himself. His ticket prices for the current tour have increased from $ 50 to as much as $ 8,000 on the black market as a result of the incident – cause for joy, which he announced on his show in Boston.

The former “Men in Black” star would definitely like the famous “Blitzdings” again at this point. A staff that made the opponent in the “Men in Black” film series forget what had just happened. Personally, I’m starting to feel really sorry for the man who wanted to defend his sick wife in a definitely wrong way. After all, none of us outsiders know how Jada Pinkett Smith is doing with the disease, and one should generally be careful about joking about other people’s costs and deficits. Because we are actually conducting a very old debate here: physical damage, such as a slap in the face, can be seen and is perceived by society, psychological damage, such as a joke made at the expense of a sick person, is not, which is why nobody talks about it anymore.