This weekend at the 94th Academy Awards, comedian and presenter of the Oscar for Documentary Feature, Chris Rock, was – deservedly – slapped on live television by Will Smith after he made a joke at his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s, expense.  

Rock was making the rounds and making jokes about others in the audience before he presented the next Oscar, and everyone seemed to be having a good time until he turned to Pinkett Smith. Rock pointed to her and mentioned her newly shaved head and said “Jada I love you, ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it.” Only moments later Will Smith stormed on stage and slapped Rock across the face in retribution. 

People have all sorts of reactions and opinions on the situation. Was it a publicity stunt? Was it staged? Regardless of Rock and Smith’s exchange being genuine or not, Rock deserved what he got after that offensive remark. 

Pinkett Smith has suffered with an autoimmune disease called alopecia which causes her hair to fall out for some time now, and she made the brave choice to appear on live television with a shaved head that highlighted her struggle. The fact that she was made fun of at all is horrendous, but especially by another celebrity at a major event like the Oscars. Rock should have known better, despite the fact that he has made jokes about the Smith family at similar events and gotten away with it, he shouldn’t have ever made a joke about something a person can’t control like an illness. The best comedians are able to make people laugh without degrading them. 

Smith could’ve handled the situation with more class and not have gotten physical, but in the heat of the moment I think he made the right decision. No matter how Smith went about defending Pinkett Smith, it would have ended up being a public scandal. If he hurt Rock in private, it would get leaked, if he bashed him on Twitter it would be trending, even a private conversation after the awards would have become public knowledge. With the options he was given, Smith was justified.