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Why Did Will Smith Slap Chris Rock?
On Sunday, March 27, 2022, the 94th Academy Awards took place in Los Angeles. Everybody knows this, despite approximately zero people seeing any of the films nominated for Best Picture. The winner of that Oscar, CODA, was released on Apple TV+. Until learning about this movie Monday morning, I didn’t even know Apple made movies. I do not think I am alone in being surprised that their content offering goes beyond the beloved Ted Lasso.
The reason everyone knows about this year’s Oscars of course has nothing to do with the films themselves. Instead it was the “slap heard ’round the world,” when Will Smith rose from his seat and hit Chris Rock onstage in response to a joke. This moment has been dissected every which way, with viewers analyzing Japanese and Australian broadcasts like the Zapruder film, and partisans coming out of the social media woodwork to defend both Smith and Rock. Setting aside some truthers’ insistence that the whole incident was staged, the main question seems to be: “What would prompt Will Smith, widely considered one of the most likable actors in Hollywood, to do such a thing?”
There are a wide range of theories here, ranging from Smith having internalized the protective nature of his character in King Richard to a long-standing beef between Smith and Rock that dates back several award ceremonies. But no matter where you begin, all roads eventually lead to Will Smith’s relationship with his wife. Though most reporting on their marriage and its resulting “entanglements” has come from Jada’s side of the story, there is one primary source from which we can try and decode the source of Will Smith’s anger.
That would be his 2021 memoir, titled Will, co-written with Mark Manson, the bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. In the book, Will Smith dives deep into his family and its sometimes very public problems. Will Smith will probably never come out and admit that he sublimated his anger at his wife and took it out on Chris Rock. But reading about their struggles in his own words may be our only key to deciphering whatever aspect of his psychology that prompted him to lash out in front of millions of viewers.
Why do you think Will Smith slapped Chris Rock? Let us know in the comments!