An MSNBC panel over the weekend suggested that white people may not fully understand Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.
On Saturday, MSNBC’s Tiffany Cross discussed the moment and the reaction to it among white people.
Michael Harriot, a columnist for TheGrio, said the incident was “about how Black people relate to each other.”
“It’s hard to explain to a White person what the difference is between an open-handed slap and a punch is, because they consider it all violent,” Harriot said.
He continued, “It’s hard to explain that everyone, really, has a certain threshold for which they will react in a certain way — whether it is say something to their mother, their sister.”
Harriot added, “You say some words to my wife and my kids, I am going to react in a certain way. We don’t know what that is for everyone. When you choose to insult someone in the governing structure, you run the risk of, if you step out of bounds, you don’t know how far out of bounds they will step.”
Meanwhile, actress Yvette Nicole Brown said, “On Twitter, a lot of us were like, ‘y’all sit this out for your protection,’ because when we need to have a conversation, we’re gonna have it.’”
She continued. “If you put your nose in something Black people need to discuss amongst ourselves, it happens. I am from East Cleveland, I would like to say that I’ve seen harder slaps at family Spades tournaments than what happened on that stage.”
“I am not saying violence is the answer…There’s a level of disrespect that every person can handle. Some people use their words, some people use their hands. It is what it is. In the Black community, we understand that,” she added.
“There’s a level of disrespect that every person can handle. Some people use their words, some people use their hands. It is what it is. In the black community we understand that.” @YNB on “The Slap” #CrossConnection pic.twitter.com/S00SVUMZFw
— The Cross Connection with Tiffany Cross (@CrossConnection) April 2, 2022
Cross chimed in, “I will try to put this in context for our white fellow countrymen as best I can.”
“In really, truly Black America, there’s a commonality amongst us all. If we went to a white person’s home and it was their family dinner, and we were sitting at the table, and the mother hauled off and slapped the father, and everybody at the table has an opinion,” she went on.
Cross continued, “The sister is like ‘Mom, you always do this.’ And the brother is like, ‘I can’t believe you’re doing this.’ And dad is like, ‘You’re terrible.’ If I weigh in as the guest in this home and say, ‘Yeah, you guys are terrible,’ Everybody’s like, ‘I’m sorry. When did you get an opinion? This is our family table.’ That’s what this moment felt like for many of us. There’s a nuance to what happened.”
“I think it is utterly ridiculous to center this in the opinions of white folks. This is just about what happened there. The jumping-off point should not be, ‘Oh, but what might the white people think about it?’” Cross added.
MSNBC’s @TiffanyDCross on Will Smith vs. Chris Rock: “It is utterly ridiculous to center this in the opinions of white folks … The jumping-off point should not be, ‘Oh, but what might the white people think about it?’” pic.twitter.com/P7q8loPAJX
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) April 2, 2022
During the Oscars on Sunday night, comedian Chris Rock made a joke about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, because of her hair.
“Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” Rock said
As The New York Times notes, Pinkett Smith has alopecia which is a condition that leads to hair loss.
After the joke, Will Smith walked up on stage and slapped Rock.
Smith apologized to Rock on and said he was “out of line.”