The Slap Heard Around the World

March 27th was the showing of the infamous 94th Oscars celebration which was hosted by the hilarious Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes. It was an extremely meaningful show, with Troy Kotsur becoming the first deaf man to receive an Oscar, and the powerful belting of Billie Eilish through her Oscar winning James Bond theme song “No Time to Die.” With constant excitement surrounding the awards this year, the thing on everyone’s minds was “what crazy thing was going to happen this time?” What did occur has become a worldwide meme, as well as the talk of the town: the slap heard around the world.

Presenter and comedian Chris Rock went on stage to present the Best Documentary Feature award, and as many presenters do, began his speech with jokes and bashes at the celebrities in the audience. Sitting front row was Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith who was up for Best Actor for his portrayal of Richard Williams. Chris Rock proceeded to pick out Jada Smith saying he could not wait for the next ‘G.I. Jane’ movie, targeting her shaved head. While many in the audience chuckled, and it seemed as if Smith and Jada just rolled their eyes, in the blink of an eye, Smith waltzed on stage and slapped Chris Rock in the face.

What confused many was if this was part of the show, and why did this joke insight such violence, but it was clear to all when the Academy blurred out the dialogue and saw Smith yelling profanities back at Chris Rock. What many did not know was that Jada Smith is suffering from alopecia; a disease that causes hair loss. While this joke was offensive, targeting something out of one’s control, Smith made a big mistake.

Minutes following this live broadcast, TikTok had taken over to post the uncensored version of the bicker, where it revealed Chris Rock stating it was just a joke. With many audience members and celebrities both shocked and confused, the award show had to go on. By the end of the show, Smith accepted his award for Best Actor, and apologized with tears in his eyes to the Academy, but did not apologize to Chris Rock until days later. Chris Rock additionally decided not to press charges. 

While everything seemed to go on peacefully, with the stars all showing up to the Vanity Fair Oscar Party following the show, there were still questions being asked of if there were going to be consequences. Smith has now withdrawn from the Academy which will now prevent him from attending awards and voting, but is still able to be nominated. Even though the Oscars and award shows are held to poke fun, and bring forth some comedy, jokes about conditions are never okay and can truly hurt, but as an icon in the film and music industry for decades, this was not a good demonstration of Smith’s character. Now, let’s turn on our televisions to see what happens during the 63rd annual Grammy’s celebration.