By now, there are about 562,000,000 results on Google when you type “Will Smith slap” into the search bar. It appears that everyone has a thinkpiece to deliver, but many lack important context.
The Slap
On March 27, while Chris Rock was announcing nominees for Best Documentary Feature, he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, namely comparing Pinkett Smith, who is bald due to of alopecia, to G.I. Jane. Will Smith promptly got up from his seat and sped towards the stage, where he delivered a slap to Chris Rock. Smith turned around and returned to his seat, where he yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth,” twice. Smith was consoled by Tyler Perry, Denzel Washington and Bradley Cooper, and Rock continued with his segment.
Jada’s Story
In May 2018, Jada Pinkett Smith shared her hair loss with the public. On an episode of Red Table Talk, she said, “I’ve been having issues with hair loss. It was terrifying when it first started. I was in the shower one day and then just handfuls of hair, just in my hands.” Pinkett Smith details the fear she felt seeing herself in this condition, sharing she was “literally shaking with fear.” Towards the end of the episode, which was about body image, Pinkett Smith said, “My hair has been a big part of me.”
On December 28, 2021, Jada Pinkett Smith made a post on Instagram referencing her alopecia in a lighthearted manner, stating, “Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!😆” In this video, she shows a new portion of hair loss that she states would be hard to conceal. She tells her audience she’s making this video to share so none of her fans would be concerned, stating, “mama’s going to put some rhinestones in there, and I’m going to make me a little crown.” Pinkett Smith has been very candid about her struggles with alopecia, an autoimmune disease that affects Black and Hispanic women at higher rates than white women.
History of Hair
As Pinkett Smith mentioned, hair has been very important to her, which isn’t unique to her. For centuries, Black women have been subject to scrutiny, backlash and even forced to cut their hair off to partake in certain activities as innocuous as a softball game. Over the last couple of years, there has been a rise in hair-based discrimination cases, especially regarding Black women, which gave way to the first state law banning discrimination based on natural hair or hairstyles.
In January 2019, Holly Mitchell, a California state senator, introduced the CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act. The CROWN Act was passed that summer and became law in January 2020. The act then went on to quickly pass in six separate states. On March 18, the CROWN Act passed the House of Representatives. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who has also been open about her struggles with alopecia, co-authored the bill with other Black representatives and garnered bipartisan support. Pressley stated, “Hair discrimination is a very real phenomenon that contributes to the criminalization of communities of color and perpetuates the school-to-confinement pathway, especially for girls and young women.”
In addition to this, some natural hairstyles have been passed down as a means of survival. This post from Instagram user @knowyourcaribbean shows one way that protective styles served a dual purpose. The caption reads, “Many African women braided rice or seeds into their hair before journeying the Middle Passage, on their way to enslavement or braided it into their children’s hair before separation between plantations, so that they could eat.” The very hairstyles being legally protected once served as a haven for hope for African women and children.
Chris Rock’s Role
In 2016, Chris Rock was hosting the Oscars. This year would be momentous, as it was the second year in a row where all acting nominations went to white actors. The storm that was #OscarsSoWhite seemingly had no effect on nominations, and as such, many prominent figures spoke out or boycotted the Oscars entirely. One of these notable figures was Jada Pinkett Smith. Pinkett Smith wrote a now-deleted Facebook post where she admonished the Academy and stated, “At the Oscars … people of color are always welcomed to give out awards … even entertain, but we are rarely recognized for our artistic accomplishments. Should people of color refrain from participating all together?”
In a video posted later, Pinkett Smith congratulates Chris Rock, stating, “Hey Chris, I won’t be at the Academy Awards, and I won’t be watching. But I can’t think of a better man to do the job at hand this year than you, my friend.” Well, Rock paid this kindness back with a joke. On stage, he stated, “Isn’t she on a TV show?’ Jada’s gonna boycott the Oscars? Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited!” Rock took it one step further and included a snubbed Will Smith in this joke, stating, “Will was not nominated for Concussion. I get it. You get mad. It’s not fair that Will was this good and didn’t get nominated. You’re right. It’s also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West.” This one-two punch of jokes in 2016 has been attributed as a point of contention for the couple and Rock, which was then exacerbated by Rock’s joke about Pinkett Smith starring in G.I. Jane. Allegedly, this joke was not rehearsed and was most likely a spur-of-the-moment quip. Another criticism levied by the public is that Rock produced a documentary titled Good Hair that tackles the subject of Black hair in America, which he stated he jumped on “for his daughters.”
Yet another criticism comes in the form of misogynoir, which leaves many Black women questioning why Rock would make a joke of such a caliber in front of predominantly white peers.
The Conclusion
All in all, a swift slap was delivered on a globally televised event. The ethical and philosophical ramifications are personal to everyone who has seen or heard about it. Following the event, Chris Rock declined to press charges, but the Academy launched an investigation into the event. Will Smith has delivered an apology, and Jada Pinkett Smith posted about a ‘season of healing’ following the event on Instagram.
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