Briefly Examining the Will Smith Apology for the Slapping of Chris Rock

Will Smith did it. It’s on video. There is no denying it. His slap across Chris Rock’s face, having first left the audience to walk up on stage to deliver the blow, startled not only the crowd but people around the world who saw it happen live or later viewed a video clip. On top of that, Smith’s cursing and stern directive towards Rock added additional shock value to the incident.

The assault lit social media on fire. It’s still burning. The traditional media has had fresh meat to chew on with this story too, with many of them examining what happened from different perspectives and tying Smith’s behavior to an assortment of societal problems.

Smith has apologized, both at the Oscars and now, after the event. Let’s look at his latest, more thorough mea culpa.

“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,” said Smith in a statement issued by his publicist and posted on Instagram. “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally. 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.”

“I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.

“I am a work in progress.

Sincerely,

Will

Smith’s publicist posted the apology. I want to believe and do believe the words came from Smith and not his communications professional. I will proceed as if the above are his thoughts, feelings and words.

It’s commendable that he says that violence, regardless of the trigger, “is poisonous and destructive.” That’s bold, clear, responsible and to the point. He then states how he judges his behavior — “unacceptable and inexcusable.” Again, bold, clear, responsible and to the point.

Smith explains the trigger, not for his anger, but for his rage, which is what his actions revealed. Reasonable explanation? Some people will say “yes” while critics will say Smith is making excuses or trying to manipulate people’s emotions. That explanation though is plausible. Smith is not a robot, he’s a human being.

He saw, as a boy growing up, his mother be abused and he might still experience trauma over it.

There are many people in media and social media who, I contend, say Smith first laughed at Chris Rock’s joke about Jada’s head yet if you see the longer clip, it appears that Smith was laughing at the prior joke told about Javier Bardem and his wife, Penélope Cruz.

Smith goes back to owning the errors of his impulses, lack of self control and attack on Rock when he says, “I was out of line and I was wrong.” You are seeing Smith’s consistency of accepted responsibility throughout his apology.

He shows courageous vulnerability when he states, “… .my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be.” This is a clear sign that he knows he fell short in how he expects to conduct himself in all moments and regrets how poorly he reacted.

Yet, let’s look at what’s next and where Smith, arguably, veers off course in two ways.

First, he comments, “I am a work in progress.” That’s certainly not an admission of someone who is overconfident or dismissive of the errors of their ways or even resistant to doing the right thing, so what’s wrong with it? It smacks of Smith communicating that he believes people could be overreacting to what happened and that he feels unfairly condemned. It is somewhat similar to when people, realizing no one is perfect or asking them to be so, communicate “I’m not perfect,” as a deflection from their poor behavior.

Second, where in Smith’s apology does he, regardless of the reasoning for his actions, show sincere remorse and apologize to Rock for committing assault? Smith either doesn’t feel like his critics will notice and will overlook this glaring omission or he feels that Rock is not deserving of a public apology and damn if he — Smith — is going to give him one. This can be interpreted by his critics as not really being sorry for the target or victim of his physical and verbal attack.

Smith expressed concern at the Oscars about being invited back. Not apologizing directly to Rock, in public and private, will make the likelihood of Smith attending the event again, very slim. Smith is not yet all in on his apology. He’s still privately rationalizing his behavior and quite possibly waiting for an expecting an apology too, to him and Jada, before saying more.

For a man who goes all in life, he isn’t all in on his admission of wrongdoing in the eyes of his critics. The sooner he comes around, the better for him. It’s understandable he’s still upset and that his wife might be too.

Yet the majority of society expects more of him and it expects it now.