Will Smith, Chris Rock, and What You’re Missing About That Slap

Condemning the slap or the joke (or both) is the easy part — there’s much more we need to discuss

Image: Will Smith, by celebrityabc, Flickr, Creative Commons license 2.0

First, I want to be clear, so there is no misunderstanding once we reach the nuance portion of what follows.

I do not believe it was OK for Will Smith to slap Chris Rock at the Oscars for making a joke that Smith felt mocked his wife.

Given that Smith has now apologized to Rock, it appears he would agree with that assessment.

Although Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith starring in G.I. Jane 2 was inappropriate and hurtful — Rock ad-libbed it unthinkingly, without regard to the emotionally and often physically painful condition that prompted her to shave her head — it did not merit striking the comedian in response.

This is not to say that violence is never acceptable.

I believe it can be in certain circumstances — for instance, in self-defense or vicarious defense against the physical assault of another. But this is not one of those times.

Surely it must be possible for men and husbands to land somewhere between how Ted Cruz reacted to the blatant disrespecting of his wife by Donald Trump and how Smith handled the…