The Oscars slap, and why there’s more to the moment you saw on TV

It started when comedian and Oscars’ presenter Chris Rock made a joke at Jada Pinkett Smith’s expense. The actress has publicly opened up about her struggle with alopecia, an autoimmune condition that leads to hair loss. But at Sunday night’s Academy Awards, Rock singled out Pinkett Smith’s recently shaved head saying, “Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it,” referring to Demi Moore’s famously shaved head in the 1997 movie.

Within moments, Will Smith walked onto the Oscars stage and slapped Rock. Then, back in his seat, shouted and swore at Rock to leave Pinkett Smith alone.

Culture writer and commentator Kathleen Newman-Bremang said the slap was shocking and the moment should have been handled differently, but it has raised conversations about the protection of Black woman, “and how people react to what happens when a Black woman is protected because we see it so rarely.”

Many observers have pointed out that there is both a long history of Black women’s pain and trauma not being taken seriously, and of race-based hair discrimination. Whether or not Rock knew about Pinkett Smith’s alopecia diagnosis, some have noted the joke was insensitive to issues he himself highlighted in the 2009 documentary “Good Hair,” exploring the cultural importance of Black hair.

“At the end of the day [Smith] was trying to, in a misguided way, protect his wife,” said Newman-Bremang, who is the deputy director, Global at Refinery29 Unbothered.

Smith has since apologized to Rock, saying in a statement released Monday night, “I was out of line and I was wrong.”

“Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” he said.

The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed Rock hasn’t filed a police report or pressed charges. Smith, who returned to the stage less than an hour later to accept the best actor Oscar for “King Richard,” has been widely condemned for his behaviour at the Oscars, but Newman-Bremang said some of the outrage from predominantly white audiences has felt distinctly anti-Black.

A since-deleted tweet from director Judd Apatow said Smith “could have killed” Rock and described Smith’s reaction as “pure out of control rage and violence.” Newman-Bremang said that is coded language that has been used to vilify Black men in a white-controlled society.

There has also been chatter about whether Smith would be asked to hand back his statuette after the Academy said in a statement it “condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standards of conduct and California law.”

“This is an organization that rewards abusers and rapists constantly when they’re white men and gives excuses for them,” said Newman-Bremang, pointing out convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein still has his 81 Oscar trophies.

Newman-Bremang said there are better ways to come to the defence of Black women. “Right now, all anybody is talking about is this physical moment that you could read as toxic masculinity.”

But she added Black women are often the butt of the joke with no regard for their humanity, and that can be true at the same time as not wanting to condone physical assault, she said.

“I don’t think they’re talking about the point, which was an attempt to protect the Black woman from the vitriol and ridicule we are constantly faced with.”