Of course, you did! It's all we are all talking about today. In the midst of my own giant to-do list, I found several hours to discuss the slap heard everywhere but the United States, where the broadcast was muted and censored for our delicate American ears.
I know I am just adding to the noise by talking about it more, however I cannot help myself.
The whole thing is bizarre, right? After the slap, everyone embraced "The show must go on," and on it went, which to me was the most disturbing.
Wasn't there someone in charge? Someone who is a grown-up, who could remove the person who had a very cold, calculated reaction and slapped another person who used their words in a less than desirable way?
Are there other places you can slap a colleague and sit back down, only to stand up up later and get a big time award? Can anyone else in the world slap someone else at WORK? Because going to the Oscar is part of the job for the actors who have made it, right?
I mean this is all like on another plane, in an alternate reality, right?
Anyway, here are a few other "slappy" takeaways from the Slap:
- When you do a Google image search for slap, you just get stills of THE SLAP not of any other slaps. This situation has literally changed a search engine over night.
- I agree, nearly entirely, with Howard Stern's take on the matter. The entire situation is filled with mental illness, bizarre reactions and points to the completely out of touch reality that Hollywood dwells in.
- I do not think this was a hoax or faked for ratings. Especially since it happened at the end of a long night. By the time I was able to turn it on, it was all over. I am not sure what the hoax would accomplish, although I can see by my searches on Twitter that the conspiracies theorists are living it up and linking this all to some evil scheme to quickly approve alopecia drugs and to ensure that the Oscars stay relevant.
- I am just horrified by the bizarre commentary that states that Will Smith went "Philly" on him. This has not been my experience during my time as a proper Philadelphian and it also has not been my experience during my time as Philly/Jersey suburbanite. People are not slapping one another in black ties in Philadelphia.
- What struck me the most in the whole slapping interlude was that after he slapped Chris Rock, Will Smith took his seat and he stayed in the room. He stayed because he could. And he could because he has power and privilege and knows that the risk is very minimal. However, if I like slapped someone at the Oscars, I'd still be in lock up.
Someone asked in a Facebook comment, "What would I do if I was in the room?" And I think this is an excellent question. The answer I have is: "Well it depends on who I was in the room."
And I think that is the lesson we can glean as we bear witness to this Hollywood meltdown: we don't all wield the same privilege and power; but the areas in which we possess privilege and power should implore us to act in ways that move life forward, instead of leaving us stuck in the weeds of nonsense.
And friends, I've been stuck in the weeds of nonsense with all this for too long. Tomorrow, I shall forget about The Slap and move on to whatever other nonsense ensues. Maybe someone will steal someone's mailbox or run off with their costar. . .whatever it is, I am here for it!
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