He slapped him. On the chance that you’re currently crawling out from under a rock, at this year’s Oscar Awards, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock. “Old news!” you say. Agreed. Appreciate you listening.
My wife and I watch this show on Netflix from time to time: “My Next Guest with David Letterman”. If you haven’t caught it, Mr. Letterman one on ones with several well-known actors, singers… stars. But it’s more than a mere hat tip to famous people. He actually does a deep dive into their life, finding out just what makes them tick. We love it!
People are interesting. No. They are strange. Beautiful. Intricate. Difficult to piece together. Especially, if we don’t even try. Quite often, we do not.
Cut to the chase, we recently watched one with Will Smith. A pre-slap recording. There’s even a post-party foul consolation inserted into the intro of the episode, reassuring us this meeting took place prior to said incident. I can imagine their reason(s) for doing so.
As Dave begins to dig in, Will’s book is highlighted as the compass from where much of the conversation stems. Will. That’s the title. I’ve never read it. But after watching this episode, I must admit, I’m curious.
High achievement is often forged from difficult upbringing. Apparently, Will is no stranger to this maxim. His father, as he describes, was demanding to say the least. Abusive, another characterization that was kicked around in a way that was caring, nonetheless a sober reality. And laughter was a means by which Will used to bring peace to his pain.
During the interview, the characters of Fresh Prince and King Richard were drawn out as roles that danced hauntingly close to home. Oddly enough, these polarizing figures took center stage in the slap incident where we see him first laughing (looks at wife) then becoming furious to the point of taking matters into his own hands… or hand.
If you’re like me, and seemingly most, you may have had zero to negative sympathy for Will. Like I said, he was first laughing. But after watching the interview, I took a different take. I don’t mean to imply that what he did was right. Not at all. My demeanor towards what happened, however, has simply morphed.
Did he do a bad thing? Yes. Should there be consequences? Yes. What then? As we sat there listening to Will and Dave relate, I began to play that scene in my mind. I imagined the great battle going on in his head. I sensed a struggle. An epic wrestling match: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air vs King Richard. Live! That single moment where he made one bad decision that cost him what only time will tell. I imagined myself making the same mistake - struggling to make sense, the heated debate between two stubborn characters, one on each shoulder.
It’s easy to demonize. Actually, it’s lazy. I’m trying to be nice. It suggests that you and I believe that the world is full of comic book characters. Over here are the good guys. Over there, the bad. One misstep and you’re catapulted from one camp to the other. But aren’t we all wrestling? Aren’t we all wishing grace and mercy for ourselves, yet swift to divvy out shame to others?
I wonder what will happen with Will’s career. Hopefully, he presses through, learning the valuable lessons that led to said outcome. Hopefully, we will find the space to let it go - not be so entertained, so fair-weathered upon the misfortunes of others. Jesus, help us.
Warning: while watching the interview was certainly insightful, it was not without a good bit of language. I did not find it to be for the sake of entertainment, merely highly emotional talk from two guys who speak as they do. I understand that not all have a threshold for this. Also, there is a brief block of talk around the use of hallucinogenics. I do not see myself being influenced by this, but I dare not judge for others. Thanks for listening!
Interesting stuff, Ken. Thanks for sharing. I heard what may have been a similar interview with Will, prior to incident. It inspired a little essay I’ve written but never published. Hope to get it out soon. Blessings bro!