OPINION | Will Smith's mistakes don't make Rock right

Will Smith apologizes to Chris Rock.

What did he write to you?

1:03

Editor's Note:

Peniel E. Joseph is the Barbara Jordan Professor of Political Ethics and Values ​​and founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is also History teacher.

He is the author of the forthcoming book, "The Third Reconstruction: America's Fight for Racial Justice in the 21st Century," as well as "Stokely: A Life" and "The Sword and Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr."

The opinions expressed here are his own.

See more opinion pieces at cnne.com/opinion

(CNN) --

My first thought after seeing iconic movie star Will Smith take the stage and slap comedy legend Chris Rock at the Oscars on Sunday night was that this was some kind of stunt. planned, the kind of "SNL"-inspired skit designed to liven up a show whose delayed cultural relevance has been much discussed.

The slap heard around the world turned out not to be a skit, but an unplanned eruption whose cultural significance is now refracted through the distorted lens of our disunited nation.

Smith apparently hit out at the comedian in defense of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, after Rock joked about his shaved head (a result of alopecia, a condition Pinkett Smith has openly discussed).

The reference to "GI Jane," a 1997 Demi Moore movie in which she shaved her head while training for the Navy SEALs, was pure Generation X, one that I'm sure went over the heads of most millennials. and younger viewers.

But not Smith's.

Will Smith should offer a full apology to Chris Rock, both in public and in private.

(Note: After this op-ed was published, Smith issued a public apology, calling his behavior "inexcusable.")

As a black man who believes that both racism and patriarchy have had negative effects on the black community, I do not believe in resorting to violence in the face of insults.

However, none of us is the worst thing we've ever done.

Smith's actions do not negate all the good he has brought to the table as an actor, artist, and humanitarian.

Smith's misconduct doesn't make Rock's joke the right thing to say at the Oscars, either.

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Jada Pinkett Smith is a star and cultural titan in her own right.

Through her "Red Table Talk" program, which has become an intergenerational phenomenon with her daughter Willow and mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris, she represents a passionate advocate for allowing Black people and communities to speak, experience and live their own truth, even when that happens against the grain of accepted discourse.

What do you think about Will Smith's reaction?

Divided opinions in Hollywood 2:43

Smith's actions will be, and already have been, interpreted in multiple ways.

Social media commentators and other comedians have deplored Smith's attack as inviting direct violence against comedians making offensive jokes.

Others have defended Smith for trying to defend his wife, pointing out that black women are rarely protected in public.

This is a sentiment made perhaps even more powerful in the wake of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's recent confirmation hearing in the Senate, which underscored the extent to which Black women can be subjected to unnecessarily harsh and punitive criticism.

Others have criticized Hollywood celebrities for literally hugging Smith (Denzel Washington was seen trying to calm him down, Bradley Cooper and Nicole Kidman hugged him and comforted Jada Pinkett Smith) after the slap and clapping when he made history as only the fifth black man who has received the award for Best Actor, for his portrayal of Richard Williams in the movie "King Richard."

Some called for Smith, a high-profile black actor, to be arrested and jailed (it's worth noting that, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, Rock refused to file a complaint), or face sanctions from the Academy.

None of this should be surprising, considering that punishment, especially against blacks who don't play by the rules, is a national pastime.

One minute you're a culture hero, the next someone calls you a criminal.

Rock defused the situation by not responding in kind onstage, and Smith's acceptance speech minutes later reflected the complexities of the moment and its aftermath.

Visibly shaken by the above events, Smith tearfully credited Venus and Serena Williams and the entire Williams family for giving him the chance to play his father.

He thanked God and described his desire to be a "vessel of love" through his work, a description infused with new layers of ironic meaning given his earlier assault on Rock.

At one point, he apologized to the Academy and attendees (although not Rock) and ended up wondering if he would ever be invited to this event again.

These are the ratings of the Oscars 2022 0:53

It was truly an extraordinarily surreal set of moments to watch.

Violence should have no place in American society.

However, when it rears its ugly head, we need to put into context why it happened.

Instead of advocating revenge, we must pursue restorative justice that focuses on healing, forgiveness, and redemption, not punishment.

Smith could have taken a step down that road by directly apologizing to Rock during his acceptance speech.

Neither Will Smith nor Chris Rock deserve to be canceled for their behavior on Sunday.

Rock is a professional provocateur.

When I was young, I remember watching Rock's stand-up and being both inspired and disappointed by his unrestrained comments on racism, black mores, the N-word, romantic relationships, and so much more.

Comedians, at their best, make us laugh and think, often making us angry in the process.

Chris Rock has always done that.

From playing a drug addict in the 1991 Gen X urban classic "New Jack City" to coming of age as a wealthy star who counts Jerry Seinfeld as one of his best friends, Rock has been a generational touchstone for audiences. black and multiracial.

Will Smith is an icon whose seamless transition from 1990s rapper to star of sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" to Hollywood leading man has made him perhaps Generation X's biggest crossover star. It's easy to argue that Smith's chameleon-like ability to present himself as palatable to both black and white audiences helped pave the way, culturally speaking, for the rise of the nation's first black president.

I understand the sentiment expressed by some that Smith's actions ruined what should have been a historic moment, not just for him but for winners like Ariana DeBose, whose supporting actress win at the Oscar marked the first for an openly queer Latina actress. ;

to Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, whose nod to "Summer of Soul" for best documentary was the first for a rapper; and to Troy Kotsur, the first deaf male actor to win a supporting Oscar for "CODA."

The alopecia of actress Jada Pinkett Smith and its media impact 2:10

I disagree: Smith derailed the ceremony, which is unfortunate, but the importance of these groundbreaking moments hasn't diminished.

These Oscars 2022 milestones will stand and resonate in their own right.

But the ceremony and its dramatic twists have also broadly reflected political divisions within the United States that have become part of a new culture war.

How we interpret Smith's actions tells us a lot about which side of these partisan divides we stand on.

In a sense, Will Smith and Chris Rock find themselves, in front of a global audience, representing the two sides of American exceptionalism.

Chris Rock, backed by free speech, can take rhetorical jabs at Jada Pinkett Smith and claim protection by saying she was joking.

In that case, for Will and Jada Smith, it wasn't a joke, but a kind of bullying that marginalized groups, particularly black women, have experienced at some point.

He does not excuse Smith's subsequent actions, but he does contextualize them.

We are left then with Smith, who carried himself in perhaps the most quintessentially American manner ever seen on an Oscar telecast.

After slapping Chris Rock, he returned to his seat, attended by high-ranking friends like Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry.

When he won the highest honor of his profession, his words in response to him were a tour de force of contrition without really seeking forgiveness from the person he had wronged the most.

His speech, which exposed his image of himself as a "protector", revealed that the interruption of the ceremony was as much about himself, as father, husband and patriarch, as it was about defending his wife.

Steph Curry reacts to the Will Smith incident 0:54

In some respects, Will Smith embodied the best and worst aspects of the American Dream on Sunday night: the world honored his greatness as an artist even as his supposed need to be the man of the house compromised that greatness.

Throughout his career, Will Smith has been an adept storyteller, crafting a narrative of impromptu rise and multiracial bonhomie that has made him an icon who, until the events of Sunday night, seemed to transcend race.

This is no longer the case, as he is now being ridiculed and praised for displaying the kind of behavior that risks reinforcing stereotypes of black male anger (the kind former President Barack Obama made sure he never displayed). , even when publicly attacked).

On a deeper level, the contradictions of Will Smith's words and actions on Sunday night revealed, for all the world to see, the flawed humanity of an entertainment industry often criticized for being out of touch or preaching the awaken from the lofty heights of entrenched celebrity and wealth.

Celebrities, it seems, face the same pitfalls as the rest of us.

Will Smith