It’s said that trust takes years to cultivate and only seconds to destroy. In a similar vain, Will Smith’s cultivated nice guy, everyday man Hollywood persona was obliterated in about 10 seconds. The time it took him to leap out of his seat and ferociously slap comedian Chris Rock, on live TV watched by millions of viewers.

To say this was a cowardly and brazen act would not be adding anything new. It seemed a heat-of-the-moment snap decision by Will to assert himself as the leader of the pack and to show with force that he would not have his wife disrespected. The calculus of coming across as an emboldened man defending family pride vs the violence and sheer awkwardness would have to have been a decision made in a very quick timeframe.

Indeed Will Smith initially laughed off the joke made by Chris Rock initially. It wasn’t until he saw Jada’s reaction that things changed and escalated very rapidly.

I agree with all the major talking points made by various commenters and news pieces on the internet. Violence as a way to shut down words, unpopular opinion etc. is never warranted or called for. One point that not many people seem to be making is that an act like this, as cowardly as it is, can cause a chilling effect to comedians. Some may decide to play it safe and not venture into any territory that might cause even the slightest amount of offense.

As celebrities, there is a certain expectation that you are “public property” to the extent that people want to know about you, your life, your romances, what you’re working on, who you’re having a spat with. This is the implicit contract you sign when you become an entertainer. People who admire your work feel they have a connection with you. To be as precious as Will and violently object to a joke not only damages your brand, it severs the connection that your fans had with you in the first place.

Look at the backlash now, Bad Boys 4 is on hold, Emancipation is on hold. The Will Smith biopic, which would seem incomplete now, is being shelved. Perhaps studios are doing this as a way to distance themselves and avoid scrutiny. This would seem wise in the era of cancel culture. Mel Gibson was asked about this fraca and his publicist shut down the interview immediately.

In the past, Ricky Gervais hosted the Oscars and made jibes that cut much deeper. In this age of snowflake super sensitivity perhaps he was lucky to have made it out in one piece!

There is a part of me that feels a tad sorry and I can understand the motive behind what he did. Though it’s doubtful that Chris Rock knew that Jada had a medical condition and was just making an observation about her “bad-ass” fem warrior haircut. I very much doubt there was any ill intent in the joke. Perhaps Will didn’t know that he didn’t know and over reacted.

At the end of the day, it only takes one small thing taken to an extreme to bring down the carefully constructed house of cards. Who knows what will happen to Will. He may decide to leave Hollywood for 3-5 years (that would be advised) or sit down in a cane chair in the backyard of Oprah Winfrey and ask for forgiveness. Truth is, people remember the bad stuff more than your good stuff. The years of entertainment you provided does not soak up the stain of negativity on that fateful night. Your brand is almost irrevocably damaged and the way forward may be to retire this schtick and take a new direction. As Will said himself “What you have come to understand as ‘Will Smith,’ the alien annihilating M.C., the bigger-than-life movie star, is largely a construction—a carefully crafted and honed character—designed to protect myself”

This will be a learning lesson, but one at great cost. It is also a lesson for us, are we able to forgive this man after he paid the price.