Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Slams Will Smith For
'Perpetuating Stereotypes'
The NBA legend's essay gave a Hall of Fame scolding to
the Oscar winner for hitting Chris Rock.
Ron Dicker
By
Ron Dicker
30/03/2022
11:55am BST
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/kareem-abdul-jabbar-will-smith_n_62441545e4b0d7ac3d53a6e3
NBA icon
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar slammed Will Smith for his attack on Chris Rock during the
Oscars, writing that the “King Richard” star “advocated violence, diminished
women ... and perpetuated stereotypes about the Black community.”
In a
Substack essay posted Monday, the all-time scoring leader broke down the many
ways Smith inflicted harm by slapping Rock for a joke about wife Jada Pinkett
Smith’s shaved head.
“By hitting
Rock, he announced that his wife was incapable of defending herself—against
words,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote.
“This
patronizing, paternal attitude infantilizes women and reduces them to helpless
damsels needing a Big Strong Man to defend their honor least they swoon from
the vapors,” he explained.
The six-time
NBA champion, who appeared with Smith on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” in 1994,
said Smith’s “self-serving” acceptance speech for his best-actor Oscar, in
which he spoke of protecting women in his movie “King Richard,” was about
“justifying his violence.”
“Apparently,
so many people need Smith’s protection that occasionally it gets too much and
someone needs to be smacked,” Abdul-Jabbar sniped.
The writer
wrote that the Black community also felt Smith’s blow.
“One of the
main talking points from those supporting the systemic racism in America is
characterizing Blacks as more prone to violence and less able to control their
emotions,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote. “Smith just gave comfort to the enemy by
providing them with the perfect optics they were dreaming of.”
The
shocking incident unfolded when Rock was presenting the best documentary award.
He cracked to Pinkett Smith that he looked forward to seeing her in “G.I. Jane
2.” The real “G.I. Jane” starred Demi Moore, who shaved her head for the 1997
role. But Will Smith took the zinger personally because his wife has been
suffering from hair-loss causing alopecia. He walked up to the stage and struck
Rock across the face, then yelled at him, “Keep my wife’s name out your fucking
mouth!”
Substack
noted that Smith had apologized to Rock and called his own actions
“unacceptable” since the essay was published.
Celebrity
takes on the incident have ranged from actor Tiffany Haddish praising Smith for
standing up for his spouse to comedian Jim Carrey saying he was “sickened” by
“spineless” Hollywood after the crowd gave Smith a standing ovation for winning
the Best Actor award.
Will Smith Did a Bad, Bad Thing
Slapping Chris Rock was also a blow to men, women, the
entertainment industry, and the Black community.
Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar
Mar 29
When Will
Smith stormed onto the Oscar stage to strike Chris Rock for making a joke about
his wife’s short hair, he did a lot more damage than just to Rock’s face. With
a single petulant blow, he advocated violence, diminished women, insulted the
entertainment industry, and perpetuated stereotypes about the Black community.
That’s a
lot to unpack. Let’s start with the facts: Rock made a reference to Smith’s
wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, as looking like Demi Moore in GI Jane, in which Moore
had shaved her head. Jada Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, which causes
hair loss. Ok, I can see where the Smiths might not have found that joke funny.
But Hollywood awards shows are traditionally a venue where much worse things
have been said about celebrities as a means of downplaying the fact that it’s
basically a gathering of multimillionaires giving each other awards to boost
business so they can make even more money.
The Smiths
could have reacted by politely laughing along with the joke or by glowering
angrily at Rock. Instead, Smith felt the need to get up in front of his
industry peers and millions of people around the world, hit another man, then
return to his seat to bellow: “Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth.”
Twice.
Some have
romanticized Smith’s actions as that of a loving husband defending his wife.
Comedian Tiffany Haddish, who starred in the movie Girls Trip with Pinkett
Smith, praised Smith’s actions: “[F]or me, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve
ever seen because it made me believe that there are still men out there that
love and care about their women, their wives.”
Actually,
it was the opposite. Smith’s slap was also a slap to women. If Rock had
physically attacked Pinkett Smith, Smith’s intervention would have been
welcome. Or if he’d remained in his seat and yelled his post-slap threat, that
would have been unnecessary, but understandable. But by hitting Rock, he
announced that his wife was incapable of defending herself—against words. From
everything I’d seen of Pinkett Smith over the years, she’s a very capable,
tough, smart woman who can single-handedly take on a lame joke at the Academy
Awards show.
This
patronizing, paternal attitude infantilizes women and reduces them to helpless
damsels needing a Big Strong Man to defend their honor lest they swoon from the
vapors. If he was really doing it for his wife, and not his own need to prove
himself, he might have thought about the negative attention this brought on
them, much harsher than the benign joke. That would have been truly defending
and respecting her. This “women need men to defend them” is the same
justification currently being proclaimed by conservatives passing laws to
restrict abortion and the LGBTQ+ community.
Worse than
the slap was Smith’s tearful, self-serving acceptance speech in which he
rambled on about all the women in the movie King Richard that he’s protected.
Those who protect don’t brag about it in front of 15 million people. They just
do it and shut up. You don’t do it as a movie promotion claiming how you’re
like the character you just won an award portraying. By using these women to
virtue signal, he was in fact exploiting them to benefit himself. But, of
course, the speech was about justifying his violence. Apparently, so many
people need Smith’s protection that occasionally it gets too much and someone
needs to be smacked.
What is the
legacy of Smith’s violence? He’s brought back the Toxic Bro ideal of embracing
Kobra Kai teachings of “might makes right” and “talk is for losers.” Let’s not
forget that this macho John Wayne philosophy was expressed in two movies in
which Wayne spanked grown women to teach them a lesson. Young boys—especially
Black boys—watching their movie idol not just hit another man over a joke, but
then justify it as him being a superhero-like protector, are now much more
prone to follow in his childish footsteps. Perhaps the saddest confirmation of
this is the tweet from Smith’s child Jaden: “And That’s How We Do It.”
That's How
We Do It
The Black
community also takes a direct hit from Smith. One of the main talking points
from those supporting the systemic racism in America is characterizing Blacks
as more prone to violence and less able to control their emotions. Smith just
gave comfort to the enemy by providing them with the perfect optics they were
dreaming of. Fox News host Jeanine Pirro wasted no time going full-metal jacket
racist by declaring the Oscars are “not the hood.” What would she have said if
Brad Pitt slapped Ricky Gervais? This isn’t Rodeo Drive? Many will be
reinvigorated to continue their campaign to marginalize African Americans and
others through voter suppression campaign.
As for the
damage to show business, Smith’s violence is an implied threat to all comedians
who now have to worry that an edgy or insulting joke might be met with
violence. Good thing Don Rickles, Bill Burr, or Ricky Gervais weren’t there. As
comedian Kathy Griffin tweeted: “Now we all have to worry about who wants to be
the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.”
The one
bright note is that Chris Rock, clearly stunned, managed to handle the moment
with grace and maturity. If only Smith’s acceptance speech had shown similar
grace and maturity—and included, instead of self-aggrandizing excuses, a
heartfelt apology to Rock.
I met Will
Smith when I appeared on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 28 years ago. And I’ve been to
his house. I like him. He’s charming, sincere, and funny. I’m also a big fan of
his movies. He’s an accomplished and dedicated actor who deserves the
professional accolades he’s received. But it will be difficult to watch the
next movie without remembering this sad performance.
I don’t
want to see him punished or ostracized because of this one, albeit a big one,
mistake. I just want this to be a cautionary tale for others not to romanticize
or glorify bad behavior. And I want Smith to be the man who really protects
others—by admitting the harm he’s done to others.
Update:
Since this article was first published, Will Smith has issued an apology to
Chris Rock, the Academy, and the audience. In part, he posted:
“Violence
in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s
Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are part
of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to
bear and I reacted emotionally,” Smith wrote. “I would like to publicly
apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and
my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for
violence in a world of love and kindness.”
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