Does Will Smith get away with hitting Chris Rock on live TV at the Oscars?

Best Actor award winner claims he was protecting his wife Jada Smith

The mega movie star Will Smith stormed onto the stage during the live Oscars broadcast and hit the show’s host Chris Rock. I hit the rewind button on my DVR over and over to video it and figure out if this was a great comedic skit or real. In case you missed it, below is the video I posted on social media that went viral when this happened Sunday night.

After hitting/slapping or whatever you want to call it, Smith went back to his seat and continued to yell at Rock. Smith’s assault came after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head. It wasn’t a mean joke. It wasn’t even funny.

Instead of being taken out of the theater by security like any normal person, Smith won the prestigious Acadamy Award for best actor. Smith was rewarded with an astounding six minutes of live, global TV to say whatever he wanted.

Smith said in his acceptance speech that he has to “protect” everyone around him, which appeared to be an explanation for why he hit Rock for making a joke about his wife Jada Smith’s bald head.

Rock did not want to file charges for assault and battery, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Rock didn’t even say anything critical about what Smith did.

Let’s discuss why everyone is talking about this:

Does Will Smith get away with hitting Chris Rock on live TV at the Oscars?

Should there be legal or civil consequences for Smith’s violence on stage?

Was Smith setting an example of how to defend your wife? Or was he overly reactive and should have just said something later?

Does Hollywood promote violence? Or does it reflect the reality of how we treat each other?

Was this just a publicity stunt?

Does Will Smith get away with hitting Chris Rock on live TV at the Oscars?

I’ve opened up comments on this post to free subscribers, so we can all discuss.