By Tim Jackson
Aside from the multiple awards Dune won for technological brilliance, the 94th Academy Awards was a very different sort of “Hooray for Hollywood.”
“Timmy, don’t hit your sister”
“But she called me names”
“We don’t hit”
How many times has that conversation been had in homes across America? That came to mind when Will Smith clocked Chris Rock for a tactless joke about the bald head of Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett, during the 2022 Oscar ceremony. It seemed unlikely that Rock could not know about her battles with alopecia, an autoimmune condition that results in hair loss. He gave his signature cackle after the comment, further inciting Pinkett-Smith to roll her eyes and hubby to leap to her defense, mount the stage, and assault Rock. This may be a valid action movie response, but it is hardly what is expected to happen in front of an audience of millions. Reality TV invaded the glitz, glamour, and all-so-forced smiles of Hollywood’s big night. Not sure how you would describe it — “bitch slap,” “clock,” or “sucker-punch” — but you could hear the blow strike Rock’s face. Dazed, his comeback was “That was the greatest moment in television history.” Where is Jerry Springer when we need him? It was Denzel Washington who, according to Smith in his tear-filled acceptance speech for Best Actor, whispered useful advice: “At your highest moment, be careful. That’s when the devil comes for you.”
Predictably, Twitter was aflutter: there were comic responses, legal questions, psychological scrutiny, and somewhere someone was assessing the likely boost to ratings. Kathy Griffin, who had her own issues with inappropriate comedy when she posed with the severed head of Donald Trump tweeted: ”It’s a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a comedian. Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.”
I…