One of the Most Bizarre Things to Happen on Oscar Night in Years

I wasn't planning on writing anything about this topic because it's getting covered by everyone and their dog. I decided to throw in my common person hot take on the issue because people seem to be missing a few key things.

I'm going to point out what you might be missing when it comes to the slap heard around the world, sort of because it wasn't heard in the United States because of censorship.

1. Just because someone initially laughs at a joke doesn't really mean much. People laugh, smile, and do other things to filter their real emotions. People have good poker faces. Sometimes you do something initially, catch yourself, and realize it doesn't synch up with how you really feel. Celebrities in these high-stakes situations are supposed to filter their emotions, so it's really not surprising that Will Smith may have initially laughed before going on stage and hitting Chris Rock.

2. Alopecia sucks, doubly so for women. People like their hair. I wish scientists could figure out how to solve baldness, gray hairs, and tinnitus. These seemingly trivial things haven't got a real solution yet, even though we can do heart surgery and send someone to the moon. Losing your hair or ringing in your ears isn't life-threatening, but it is inconvenient and sometimes really, really sad.

3. Should you go on stage and punch a host or presenter? No, obviously that is the wrong thing to do. This appears to be the culmination of insult-joke bombardment over years and years of Oscar ceremonies. It's not that funny to make fun of people who are anxiously waiting to figure out whether they're going to get an award for their hard work... or not. They spend a lot of time on their outfits, preparing speeches, and trying to be composed for an event that often is probably a real time-sucker for them.

4. Yes, Will Smith hit Chris Rock, but how hard did he hit him? People are bashing Smith for doing this, but Rock kept the show going. He continued on with the awards ceremony. He didn't go off stage or moan about his pain. He didn't press charges. Smith hit him, but he didn't break bones or cause him to bleed. He hit him once, just once. Not that I condone that, but... calling it violence seems like we're dialing up the temperature to more than it might actually have been. In fact, during the commercial break, Rock was apologizing to Smith for the comment he made. Rock wasn't taken off stage to check for injuries, so let's slow our roll a little?

5. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have a complicated marriage that nobody really understands. It's really none of our business. There are rumors about them and all kinds of things. No one really knows what it's like in their marriage except those two. It's their business. Some have taken Rock's comments about the actress being the next G.I. Jane as though he were comparing Pinkett Smith to Demi Moore and her dating history, so Rock in a sense was poking fun at alopecia and the Smiths' marriage. I think that's a stretch.

6. Was this staged? It's hard not to think that a little with Hollywood events, but I think it was just crazy enough that it was real. The LAPD asked Rock if he would like to press charges... he isn't, so I think we should stop accusing Smith of a crime since it doesn't look like anyone wants to take him to court for this moment.

7. The Smiths and Rock have history together. Rock was on Smith's show, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. In the past, Rock had made fun of the couple for their stance on a previous Oscars ceremony, which their stance might have been glorified or performative.

8. Some people have vastly taken this story out of proportion with a racist angle. Please leave skin color at the door and stop using words like "thug". The whole altercation could have happened between any two people regardless of skin color or gender.

9. Will Smith has a reputation as a good guy and someone who is easy to work with in Hollywood, which is saying a lot. I don't want to see cancel culture like stuff for this guy over a short lapse in judgment. Unless Will Smith is going to start acting like the biggest punk in the world, let's be adults and let Smith and Rock work out their issues. Unless Smith really is turning into a violent person, let's not get too bent out of shape.

10. Just saying something is a joke doesn't make it okay. You don't get a "get out of jail" free card when you slap the words "it's just a joke" on something. Even if you were making a joke and even if you were well-intentioned, you could still hurt someone's feelings. Even if it wasn't your intention to hurt someone's feelings, you should still apologize. "I'm sorry" is a phrase only strong and confident people will use because they're willing to humble themselves rather than try to prove they're above fault. Did we not all learn this in elementary school?