It’s been a while since I’ve posted, and—honestly—the last thing I expected to discuss on here would be celebrity affairs. But what happened at the Oscars was that profound and it led me to do some introspection during the past few days.
For those who were fortunate enough to miss the craziness: during the 2022 Oscars Awards, Chris Rock was slapped by Will Smith over a joke aimed at his wife. Specifically, Chris Rock compared Jada’s baldness to G.I. Jane, and from the audience feed, she seemed clearly upset by the remark. It prompted Will to waltz up on the stage and slap Chris across the face, later exclaiming, “Keep my wife’s name out your f*cking mouth!”
So here we are, divided between who was wrong and who was right. But frankly, I don’t find it that simple.
It’s hard to reclaim privacy in digital world.
Z.A. Davis
On one hand, Chris’ joke was harsh—most comedy is. On the other hand, words shouldn’t warrant physical assault, even if they are offensive. But above all, it should be pointed out that, regardless, Will’s action detracts from the significance of the Oscar Awards. Will’s first Oscar will be forever shadowed by his violent response to a joke. His years spent building his reputation as an easy-going and kindhearted man were quickly shattered because of this one night. It serves as a valuable lesson to those working to become artists.
And yet, in spite of everything, I cannot shake the doubt that a joke aimed at his wife pushed him to this point. As many others have mentioned, Will and Jada have been at the receiving end of criticism since they revealed the odd (and dark) corners of their relationship. I’ve had my fill of memes and jokes about Jada’s “entanglement”, Will’s despondent expression throughout the talk show, and August Alsina. I don’t want to delve further into that.
But clearly, publicizing intimate experiences has its drawbacks, opening both Will and Jada to a world of commentary (and jokes) that they probably don’t appreciate. Unfortunately, after you go down the route of sharing everything, doubling back isn’t an option. It’s hard to reclaim privacy in a digital world. People talk, and a lot of times those conversations will be unsavory. Then Sunday’s fiasco occurred, and now—well—what more can be said? So, no Will. You and your wife’s name will stay in people’s mouths for years to come.
And the conversations won’t be pretty.
Now, this brings me (and hopefully many others) to reflect on my career as an artist. We work hard to build a public image—I’m still even building mine. As writers (and then authors) we’re pushed to have an active presence on social media. We’re expected to promote our works, talk about the craft, share our experience, our lives—it’s a lot of sharing. It’s easy to overshare, and sometimes that results in negative attention.
I’m not advocating for people to put on airs when in public—to falsify their image so that they come off as pristine—because it’s impossible to avoid criticism as an artist. Even I, who’s barely on social media, get my fair share of criticism and negative comments. But the difference between myself and Will is how I respond to these comments. Violence isn’t the answer and slapping someone isn’t going to stop other people from talking negatively about you. It’ll only make you seem unhinged.
Anywho, this will hopefully be my last post discussing celebrities. I’m usually indifferent about Hollywood drama, but I’ve just seen so many odd takes on the matter so I thought I may as well add mine.
Need to get back to balancing class workload and writing! I will likely do an actual writing update sometime in April when things die down.
Leave a Reply