That said one does have to take a pause before reacting. Hitting someone is a crime and in California it's pretty seriously taken. The penal code has in it some pretty stiff fines and jail times for battery even if there is no injury. The LAPD did make it clear that Will Smith committed a crime and that they could have arrested him for it. Rock decided not to file a report.
Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences intends to investigate the incident and will probably propose some form of punishment, fine, suspension, but will not take the Oscar Will won from him.
Chris Rock is a comedian, right? Right, and some of the jokes he makes are off color and cross lines. The crack about Jada being the next G.I. Jane was probably not a smart one to make but, slapping him over it was Will Smith's error. Looking at it from the side of Will Smith one does have to step back a bit and take a look at from the perspective of a husband hearing his wife getting dissed by a comic about a disease she has been dealing with. Jada has Alopecia which causes hair loss. It's not a laughing matter especially for women so a joke like the one Chris Rock told is pretty offensive. Will Smith reacted as any husband would to defend his wife, the problem was the kind of reaction, hitting Chris Rock.
A wife wants her husband to defend her. I am sure that Jada wanted Will to do something about the joke but, I would also hope she would have said something like "honeykins I love that you wanted to defend me but, boo boo hitting Chris was not ok." Cussing him sure hitting no.
Do I think Rock crossed a line, given the information out there probably yes. Was Smith entitled to be upset? Yes I do think he was allowed to take issue with the joke. He had every right to stand up for his wife and say that is not acceptable. He did not have the right to strike Chris Rock. I can relate to what it is like to be the butt of a joke. Years ago while in college a person referred to me in a joking manner as a nobody who would always just be a nobody. That did not go over very well with me and I verbally let the man have it. I lost it, and nearly put my hands on him. Thankfully I did not because I knew I could hurt him, get hurt by him and face charges and get kicked out of school. I reported the incident and the guy was dealt with through the correct channels. There are channels that Will Smith could have and should have used to handle this. Instead he chose to go it alone and now it's costing him in so many ways.
