The Slap Heard Around the World

What’s the deal with the lady-slap?

I’ve waited to weigh in on this topic because I wanted all the facts before delivering the pearls of wisdom my posts are known for. And it appears the issue has been laid to rest. Will Smith is barred from the Academy and its events for ten years. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if that’s a punishment or a blessing.

First, let’s address the elephant in the room. For god’s sake, the man lets other men sleep with his wife, and I’m sure he sleeps with other women. While it’s none of my business what people do within their relationships, if you make those relationships public, you invite criticism, you lower the bar of decency, and you expose the whole matter along with the people involved, to a joke or two.

In all honesty, I’m not a fan of the Academy Awards and didn’t watch the show. I heard about it while watching the news on TV. My first impression was that it’s part of the show. It was staged, a means to make the Academy and the Oscar Award meaningful to the average Joe and Jane once again. And let’s not forget the average G.I. Joe and G.I. Jane (hehehe).

Regardless of the victims’ choice about pressing charges, If you or I did the same thing, we’d both be in jail for at least a day and there would be a bail bond as part of our release. Remember, the world was an eyewitness, no victim testimony is required. I suspect that Chris Rock knew he didn’t have to press charges and it made an easy decision even easier. Kudos to him.

So, in conclusion, if your wife suffers from alopecia and chooses to go out in public looking like G.I. Jane rather than wear a wig, then she’s making a public statement and people have a right to comment. The joke was about her appearance, not her affliction. I think more than anything else, the slap heard around the world speaks more about the dynamics of the Smith marriage. Read into that what you Will (hehehe).