Whew! Did ya’ll watch the Oscars? Even if you didn’t watch the Oscars, I’m pretty sure you saw Will Smith pimp slap Chris Rock over his joke that he made about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. I did not tune into the Oscars due to the time difference in Guam, I was already at work when I heard the news. What are my thoughts on the matter? I’m glad you asked. I believe that Will Smith was simply defending his wife against a man who was clearing disrespecting her in front of a room full of people and millions of viewers. Do I think that he could have handled the situation better? Yes, I do. Although I agree with Will’s intentions, his execution could have been better. I get it though. We’re human. We let our emotions get the best of us sometimes no matter how emotionally intelligent we are.
This incident sparked a lot of conversation about race, and hair, and black women in particular. We know that black women in America are the most disrespected according the the late great, Malcolm X. Even though we are among one of the smartest most successful demographics in America, we still get disrespected and slighted. It is nice to see SOMEONE take up for black women no matter what it looked like. Jada is Will’s wife despite what we all may think about their relationship, that is still his wife.
Violence, however, is never the answer and we just can’t go slapping people in public just because they said something that we don’t like. Will Smith apologized for letting his emotions get the best of him on what some would call one of the most important nights of his career. The irony of it all was that he actually won an Oscar for his role in King Richard, but his accomplishment was overshadowed by that incident.
Will Smith is a great human being. I’m sure we all can agree to that. He made a mistake in slapping Chris Rock, however he did not make a mistake in protecting his wife. Black women deserve to be protected and respected.
Queen Juliette 