In what was coined one of the Blackest Oscars to date, one singular event has overshadowed the history that took place at the Dolby theater in Los Angeles Monday night. Not the fact that Will Packer and his all-Black team were the first to produce the Oscars or that legend Samuel L. Jackson won his first award, the Honorary Oscar, after appearing in nearly 157 movies.
In a shocking turn of events Will Smith, who also won Best Actor for his role in King Richard, walked up on stage and slapped comedian and host Chris Rock and proceed to yell from his seat “keep my wife’s name out your f*cking mouth.”
The confrontation was in response to a G.I. Jane joke in reference to Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. While the audience laughed, the Oscar cameras caught Pinkett Smith rolling her eyes at the blow. The actress shared her battle with alopecia in an Instagram post last December, revealing a freshly shaved head.
Since, Smith has been condemned by his peers for ruining what was a monumental moment for Blacks in the film space. On the contrary, Rock has caught flack for being insensitive towards Black women and people with alopecia.
The actions of both men have led to general discourse on social media websites about who was in the right or wrong as if it matters.
In the following days after the incident Smith took to instagram to publicly apologize to Rock citing that his behavior was “unacceptable and inexcusable.” Furthermore, in lieu of losing his Oscar and facing possible criminal charges , Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Chris Rock has already explained his thought process and has chosen to go on tour with new material soon just as Will Smith will look to continue his illustrious career.