At the Oscars telecast on Sunday, Chris Rock made a bad joke about Jada Pinckett Smith's shaved head. Her husband, Will Smith, ran onstage, slapped Chris, and uttered a slew of profanities.
The online world went crazy. Some people defended Rock, some defended Smith, and others said they were both wrong. The Academy is wrestling with what action to take against Smith, and how to prevent this type of incident in the future.
Wow. We've had more than two years of COVID and we're into the second month of a horrific attack on the sovereign nation of Ukraine. In the past two weeks, there have been 11 people killed in 5 terrorist attacks in Israel--police officers, civilians, and even two workers originally from Ukraine.
But Rock v. Smith is what's in the headlines.
While Smith didn't hurt Rock, there was still no excuse to resort to a physical altercation. And no reason to shout profanities. These award shows are known to roast the celebrities in attendance.
My grandmother had a great saying: "If you don't go, you don't have to go home." If you don't put yourself into a tough situation, then you don't need to figure out how to get out of it.
?If Will Smith didn't want to be subjected to the kind of bad jokes these type of events generate, he didn't have to attend. Yes, he won the Best Actor award. But certainly not for his Sunday night performance.
Meanwhile, the images that stick in my head are a young Ukrainian girl shot in the head while fleeing Russian soldiers, and blood stains on the floor of a cafe outside of Tel Aviv.
If we focus on the Oscar night altercation rather than these more disturbing occurrences, then maybe we are the ones that need to be slapped. A couple of times, perhaps.
A Notable Way to Help Ukraine:
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