Race, Masculinity, and Respect
Both Smith and Rock are Black, causing some white people to acknowledge they probably “should sit this one out.” Bernice King, daughter of MLK Jr., tweeted: “Anybody who thinks ‘Black people look bad’ after the #Oscars already thought Black people look bad. Respectability doesn’t cure racism. Be Love, but please don’t think that a person who uses one moment to malign a whole group of people did not do so before that moment.”
Some people applaud Smith for defending his wife against a low blow. Rock, who wrote a 2009 documentary about Black hair, shouldn’t have disrespected Pinkett-Smith in such a personal way, they say.
Others describe Smith’s controversial approach to marriage, characterized as “open,” as its own form of disrespect. Blogger Samuel Sey tweets: “Will Smith didn’t want to slap himself for what he’s allowed other men to do with his wife, so he slapped Chris Rock instead. Through his open marriage with Jada, he’s done more to dishonor his wife than a comedian’s harmless joke ever could.”
Oscars 2022: What Would Jesus Do?
Both Smith and Rock were wrong and should apologize to each other, says Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest. “And instead of modeling insults and violence, both could model forgiveness and reconciliation,” he tweeted Sunday. “Today’s Gospel was the Prodigal Son, where a wise man accepts another man’s apology.”
The day after the telecast, writer Laura Elliott tweeted: “Good morning to everyone who came to Twitter to find out what Christians (progressive or conservative) should think about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on live TV. But here’s an idea: what if instead we ‘think on these things’ (Phil. 4:8)?” She adds: “PS: I have no problem with cultural commentary and get sucked into it like everyone else. But wouldn’t it be great if our minds were collectively as captivated by Jesus and His Word as they are by the latest moment out of Hollywood?”
