Once again, the Oscars show proved that unpredictability is often its hallmark. But violence shouldn’t be.
It was unexpected to see a man walk the red carpet with no shirt. It was surprisingly delightful to see a film about a deaf family with a hearing daughter win Best Picture and be cheered by an audience waving their hands in visual applause. But movie star Will Smith barreling up to the stage, unbeckoned, to smack comic Chris Rock in the face for making a joke about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, was not just a shocker. It was an assault that should have been called out immediately for the unconscionable act that it was.
“Keep my wife’s name out your f------ mouth,” Smith shouted to Rock across the theater after returning to his seat.
