WANTED: The Lynching of Will Smith’s Career

By Jonah Nicholson

After Will Smith smacked Chris Rock for making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, the internet divided itself into two clear sides on whether Rock’s joke was significant enough for Smith to slap him during a prestigious award show. As news media and Twitter posts blanketed the internet, there was a common theme amongst the reaction: white people and their trauma had been prioritized in an altercation between two Black people. This project will focus on how the Black Brute stereotype is perpetuated through the white lynch mob-like reaction of white celebrities and the resulting consequences from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  I chose this focus because I was invested in the situation when it originally happened. There was much talk about the want to hold Smith accountable, yet many failed to realize the way the Academy went about doing that had inherit racial biases. This project helps me vocalize the way those biases played out and affected Smith.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/mar/28/will-smith-slap-how-did-hollywood-celebrities-react

During the 94^th annual show of the Academy, many from across the globe watched in anticipation and satisfaction as their favored actors within beloved films were awarded for their execution of skill. Will Smith had been nominated for an award that would be presented by comedian, Chris Rock. As Rock was presenting, he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair. Presumably alluding to her alopecia, he stated that he couldn’t wait to see her in the next G.I. Jane movie. After Jada’s body language reflected her disgust with the joke, Smith marched on stage and aggressively smacked Rock. Afterward, Smith returned to his seat and continued to yell at Rock, cussing at him. It soon became clear that audience members did not approve of his actions. Some chose not to participate in the standing ovation during his acceptance speech and further expressed their disapproval online after the show.

Primacy was given to white celebrities in the media who expressed their trauma, disapproval, and call for the Academy to take a proper course of action in dealing with Smith. Examples can be found in Amy Schumer’s response to which she expressed she had been traumatized as others had. She further stated Rock handled a difficult situation very well, which gave legitimacy to the aggressor-victim relationship characterized in the Brute stereotype between Smith and Rock respectively. Tim Allen disapproved, stating that Smith should not have done what he did as it was not an appropriate response to Rock doing his job as a comedian. Amanda Seyfried made it clear in a post to her social media that she was upset the Academy didn’t remove Smith and allowed him to attend the after party as well. After Smith resigned, the Academy soon after released a statement acknowledging how they fell short in dealing with the situation in the present moment as well as punishing Smith by banning him from all things related to the Academy for a decade.

Smith’s actions mirrored the Black Brute stereotype exactly. His body language showed that he intended aggression and his course of action followed suit. Priority is given to the reactions of white celebrities who expressed sympathy for Rock, making him the victim, and their public disapproval of Smith’s actions that called for proper punishment. All of what’s happened so far reflects the Jim Crow white lynch mobs. During the Jim Crow period, white mobs called for justice for the victim and punishment for the aggressor. The modern-day lynching took form in the hanging of Smith’s path with the Academy. Their statement condemning his actions and wanting to move forward with the safety of all in mind only solidified Smith as the Brute they wanted to hang.