I didn’t watch the Oscars last night. But apparently this morning, there’s a ton of commentary on social media about Will Smith open-palm-slapping Chris Rock regarding a joke Chris Rock made about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
That was a Prudential slap, because Will Smith got him a piece of the Rock.
Okay, joke’s over.
But see, here’s the thing. Jada Pinkett Smith has been battling alopecia for the past two years. Alopecia causes premature hair loss, to the point where women can lose all the hair on top of their head. And in a world and society where beauty is paramount, it’s emotionally devastating for a woman – in fact, an actress – to suddenly lose their tresses.
She’s not the only high-profile person to come forward with her struggles with alopecia. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley also suffers from alopecia, as she revealed in a recent video.
And the joke about “GI Jane 2” – that references a 25-year-old motion picture in which Demi Moore appears with a shaved scalp. As in the trailer.
So yeah, I can understand that Jada Pinkett Smith was furious that Chris Rock played off her current condition as a throwaway joke. Rock just followed in the steps of “cringe comedy” from Seth McFarlane’s Oscar hosting stint. Just watch the color rush out of Naomi Watts’ face. Just watch Charlize Theron plotting her own future slap-down.
There’s already a personal and emotional connection with the loss of beauty, in an industry where a woman’s beauty is part of her employment. So yeah, Chris Rock pole-vaulted way over the line on this. I mean, would he have made a joke about another actress who underwent a double mastectomy? Or another actress who recently suffered a miscarriage?
As for Will Smith … should he have slapped the smile off of Chris Rock’s face for that? Let’s put it this way. If someone cracked a joke about your significant other’s health issues, what would you do? Play it off as just cringe humor, or knock the joker into the middle of next month?
I’m just going to say this … whenever it happens, the next time Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith make another Madagascar animated film is going to be a VERY TENSE TIME.
Chuck The Writer 
I recorded the Oscars – though I haven’t watched them yet – for all the good and bad moments. I watch, 30 minutes at a time, and I can zap thru the commercials, while riding the stationary bike.
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IIRC, Jada had already gone bald, or was on her way there, when she was on “Gotham” a few years back. Chris should’ve checked with her & Will before doing his bit.
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I didn’t know the Oscars were on last night until I ran across it while channel surfing last night RIGHT at the time Chris Rock just got on. He did the G.I. Jane joke, which I didn’t get until the camera cut to Jada and I saw that look on her face. The Smith got up and hit Rock, but I thought it was staged, and from the angle of the camera it looked like a “stage punch” so I switched channels. I haven’t watched the Oscars in 20 years at least anyway. But, I remember that look on Jada’s face though. She looked like someone had just hit her.
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Will’s verbal thrashing would have been sufficient: message delivered, received and heard around the world.
Instead, he chose to redefine his future, which includes the possibility of criminal charges (with video evidence of a defenseless Chris Rock with his hands behind his back.)
It sounds like Rock will be taking the high road. But as we saw last night, anything can happen.
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People need to learn there are consequences to actions. Sometimes those consequences are immediate and painful.
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Stop the violence, Chuck! I can’t believe you condone this sort of behavior.
Who knew that Will Smith is ok with his wife being balled by other men but a bald joke is too sensitive?
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Think about the pile of new stand-up material that just landed in Chris Rock’s lap.
He can settle the score on his next Netflix $pecial.
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