What's the Real Controversy? #Oscars2022
Where Will Smith is and isn't justified for hitting Chris Rock.
well, well, well….here. we. are!
there are so many thoughts. so many opinions, and so many lens’s to view this year’s Oscars through, following Will Smith’s impulsive reaction.
note: my usage of the word impulsive has nothing to do with whether I think he was in the wrong or not. I’m just stating facts and it was impulsive for sure….
but before I even address that, let me preface by saying: my platform is for and always will be for the upliftment and advocacy of black women and mental health.
that said, i will also play devil’s advocate and be the first to share an #unpopularopinion.
my thoughts:
you cannot control anyone’s actions but your own.
you never know when and/or where someones breaking point is.
according to CNN, Jada Pinkett-Smith, recently shared why she’s bald and her battle with Alopecia Areata.
to say the least, she is fragile.
though Chris Rock claimed not to know this, the “joke” was distasteful and as history has it, this was the second time he’d used her as the butt of his joke.
so with that said, claiming ignorance isn’t an excuse. do your reasearch sir, it’s that simple.
because your a black man and this was the first Oscars Award show hosted by an all black team.
this show is global and you have to be well-aware of all the moving parts including the truth about those you decide to talk about off script…
i know that comedians make insensitive jokes all the time, and most do it without a care in the world. though the world becoming a super hyper sensitive place annoys me at times, it’s important to note that words have power, mental and physical health are both active and real.
so i repeat: you never know when and/or where someones breaking point is.
being mindful of our impact no matter how major or minor is imperative. these are people’s lives we’re talking about..that we’re neglegently handling, and yes, i think that should be taken more seriously.
maybe this could be a lesson that somethings are just off limits and you can in fact go too far.
not sure if this relates to Chris, but the reach in desperation for a laugh that some comedians crave can lead us here. for instance, the jokes people were making about Chadwick Boseman, and he was silently suffering.
i think Will was in the right for reacting and that it was about time he publically stood up for her, with all they’ve been through. though, i am not sure how i feel about the timing or placement of his choice to defend her honor… (not that that matters to some people.) i’m not sure if he would have had the courage to do that if Chris was someone else.
which brings me to the bullying point of view. i think that it may have been an unfair encounter yes, and Chris clearly didn’t expect that but he knew in that moment that
1. he’d f’d up
2. it was in his best interest not to react exactly how Hollywood and the white folks expected him to.
so for that i commend him, on top of not pressing charges..(but i didn’t think he was going to do that.)
i fully agree that Will deserved to check Chris for the insensitive joke, and i do think we as a society are desentitized to mistreating women, but specifically black women. that needs to be addressed and it needs to be stopped.
i think the issue here really lies in the generic fact that black women are always sticking up for, protecting (emotionally & mentally), advocating for, and covering black men. and to not even recieve an ounce of that care/concern in return..
it hurts. it’s painful. it disrupts our inner. it chips away at us whether we’re aware of it or not, because of what people have historically gotten away with.
it can make you question the true definition of community, especially when it comes to your own.
another and i think the most comical point by far is, does he have the same energy for August Alsina? lol && Why was he laughing at the joke initially?
though i wish i had the answer for both..i don’t.
but i’ll take an educated guess and say that the situationship with Jada and August, Will was aware of and didn’t retaliate because he has his own skelotons of infidelity. despite the contradicting remarks he’s made in various interviews including The Red Table Talk. i wonder what Will and August’s conversation or lack there of did/could look like.
also, Will is a comedian in his own right, and him laughing at the “joke”could be taken several ways. i think he was playing it off and was bothered because he knows her struggle, he knows her heart, he loves her, and he knows that he’s hurt her and what that comment may have done to her. and so his attitude gave enough is enough.
however, the biggest controversey for me is the fact that Will was nominated for such an important role for the culture , for the Williams family’s legacy and for his career.
that moment in time, was about so much more.
and with the heightened state of how playful the internet has made the world seem, the point of it all was overshadowed. the fact that his Oscar win, was well-deserved is now an after thought.
in his speech he was crying and i do believe the tears were genuine. i can only imagine the emotional toll that his family is enduring; it must be excessive. on top of what that moment meant for him.
i think he regretted doing and saying what he did at the time that he chose to do it...but he meant it.
yet, the downfall is though the desired perception for Will open handedly hitting Chris on international television, should’ve been that he was “protecting his wife”, it’s now distoreted. stained.
maybe not to Jada, and that’s probably Will’s only concern, but to the world.
but let’s please not get it twisted, at all.
at the end of the day, black women are the beginners, innovators, and creators of almost all things. we’re the reason that any of us have the opportunity to speak, be, and exist in the way that we do. that is law.
that will never change, we deserve to be held in the highest regard. and in the same breath, violence is not the answer.
i think if Will would’ve addressed the “joke”, however he felt was necessary, at a different time, Chris would’ve felt worse knowing what he said was careless.
but he didn’t. we all have choices to make and he made his.
…this is my take.
blessings to all the beautiful black people in the house that night, we’re a work in progress for sure. lol
-Love Telley