To say that the 94th Annual Academy Awards ceremony was eventful would be something of
an understatement.
This week's Oscars should have been memorable for a number of reasons: Ariana DeBose and
Troy Kotsur's history-making wins, for example, or the ceremony's unprecedented yet effective
hosting arrangement.
Instead, the ceremony will forever be recalled as the night Will Smith slapped Chris Rock
on a live broadcast and then cursed him out in front of millions of people.
The attack was in response to a "G.I.
Jane" joke Rock had made about Jada Pinkett Smith's close-cropped haircut, a consequence
of the autoimmune disease alopecia.
Smith initially laughed at the joke, but Pinkett Smith was immediately and visibly upset and
within seconds Smith could be seen striding to the stage to deliver his now infamous slap
to the shocked presenter.
While he was clearly and visibly shaken by the incident, Rock recovered quickly, referring
to the ceremony's broadcast as "the greatest night in the history of television" before
resuming the show.
Unsurprisingly, this moment has been the talk of the town ever since it occurred and has
elicited numerous, wide-ranging reactions across the media.
"So a lot happened tonight.
Key takeaways?
What did you guys think?"
"Um… always keep your guard up?"
Following the incident, a number of celebrities and casual viewers alike took to Twitter to
share their thoughts.
Understandably, some viewers immediately jumped to Rock's defense.
Kathy Griffin, for instance, tweeted:
"It's a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a Comedian.
Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and
theaters."
Meanwhile, podcast host Ethan Klein echoed Griffin's sentiments, writing:
"I'm in awe the show went on like nothing happened...
Will Smith punched a comedian for doing his job."
Elsewhere, one Twitter user noted:
"Violence against cultural commentators, whether journalists or comedians, has a dangerous
trickle down effect."
Another pointed out that Smith's response to Rock's joke and explanation constituted
"literal textbook abuser" behavior.
Director Rob Reiner similarly tweeted:
"Will Smith owes Chris Rock a huge apology.
There is no excuse for what he did.
He's lucky Chris is not filing assault charges.
The excuses he made tonight were bull----."
In other words, it seems like Rock has quite a few prominent supporters backing him right
now.
That said, while there were many Twitter users who didn't hesitate to make their support
for Rock clear, some have spoken up in support of Will Smith's smack.
In response to the shocking Oscars moment, comedian and actor Tiffany Haddish shared
her thoughts on Will Smith's decision to slap Chris Rock with People magazine, saying:
"When I saw a Black man stand up for his wife, that meant so much to me."
On Twitter, Nicki Minaj posted:
"You just got to witness in real time what happens in a man's soul when he looks over
to the woman he loves & sees her holding back tears from a 'little joke' at her expense.
This is what any & every real man feels in that instant.
While y’all seeing the joke he’s seeing her pain."
Plenty of other Twitter users also weighed in with their thoughts about the incident.
For their part, one user tweeted:
"When is the last time you've seen a Black woman publicly defended in real time?
I rest my case."
Meanwhile, another observed that:
"Sometimes you gotta get your hands dirty.
Maybe one week we'll manage to extend 'protect Black women' to more [than] one Black woman."
Additionally, one user pointed out the hurtful nature of Chris Rock's joke about Jada Pinkett
Smith, writing:
"Jada has been very clear about her insecurities of her hair loss.
Chris went low and personal as an attack.
Will had every responsibility to stand up for his wife."
Obviously, these are only some of the many reactions that have flooded the internet in
the time that has passed since the original Oscars broadcast.
Indeed, the debate over the incident has filled practically every social and conventional
media platform.
Unfortunately, it seems that the conversation surrounding this moment may last longer than
the memory of the films that were actually honored.
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