A recent cataclysmic event, which has shocked Western society to its core, has already garnered the moniker of “the slap heard ’round the world.” You, of course, likely know what I refer to here, how could you not? The veneer of cool professionalism in the world of Hollywood has cracked again, and as is standard procedure, people are outraged. In the midst of war and mass death, the actions of an over-entitled person are what truly gets people up in arms. If you are lost on what I am referencing, then maybe sometime you can give me a tour of that rock under which you live.

Critically acclaimed actor Will Smith, in the midst of declining Oscar viewership rates, decided to forever cast a shadow on his acceptance of the “Best Actor” award by physically assaulting Chris Rock over a joke on live television. This was then shortly followed by a speech in which he invoked Richard Williams as a fierce defender of family — all while crying, of course. Somehow, through all of this, he forgot that at the end of the day, he is just a man being paid exorbitant amounts of money to read scripts while being filmed. Furthermore, Chris Rock, while actually doing a good job of keeping his cool, has been lauded for his stoic reaction. As such, the level of useless actor fanaticism in this world has been balanced out and remains exactly the same. Nothing has changed.

You might ask “if nothing has changed, then why bother writing about it? Does any of this matter?” And to that I say, of course it is meaningless, but it is interesting to talk about when you look at it from another angle. You can rationalize the entire situation and give props to either Smith or Rock for whatever reason, but it does not change what happened. A man interrupted an award ceremony to assault another man on live television, walked back to his seat, verbally assaulted him, and got away essentially without consequence. I seriously do not think that Will Smith for even a second, moral reasons aside, considered the consequences of his actions beforehand. This is likely because he knows that someone of his status is not likely to deal with consequences anyway, and he was right, of course. Aside from being lampooned on social media outlets and magazines for a few weeks, I think our Fresh Prince will do just fine. What happened is not an example of cool justice, but rather of blatant privilege.

It should be noted that Will Smith did experience some consequences, albeit no meaningful ones. He resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and eventually apologized to both the Academy and Chris Rock. His resignation prevents him from attending Academy screenings, and he can no longer vote in the awards. He can still be nominated for an award, however, as being a member of the Academy is not a requirement. He will likely still be nominated in the future, as he is one of the last big stars in Hollywood over whom people continue to rave.

Oscar viewership has been declining, and the producers and voters are on their last legs attempting to make the once-massive event relevant once more. The lyrics in the “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” performance from the hit Disney movie

Encanto

were significantly transformed during the live performance at the Oscars. They try to shoehorn in relevant trends to regain interest in such events, such as inviting Megan Thee Stallion (who has absolutely no connection to

Encanto

, but sure is popular with the kids on TikTok). All this is to say that Will Smith is too important to the Academy to do away with entirely, like almost every star who continues to rake in money for the industry. Producer Will Packer made it very clear in the moment that Will Smith was going to be asked to leave the event, but would not be forcefully removed. A controversial episode is useful to the Academy and to networks, as it will get people talking about the Oscars, but to forcefully remove Will Smith after he assaulted Chris Rock on live television would be too much for them. When it comes to moments like this, the most important thing to these institutions is the preservation of public images. Nothing has really changed so as to protect everyone’s image.

I like Will Smith as an actor.

I Am Legend

still makes me cry, and

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

will forever be a classic, but that is where it should end for most people. Fanaticism over celebrities is a given, but moments like these show us the real effect it has on said celebrities. If people like Will Smith — and every other detached millionaire attending such events — were actually held accountable beyond performative duties, as regular people should be, then events like this simply would not happen. Realize that the people you love watching on the little and big screen are people just like you and me: flawed people who theoretically abide by the same laws and pay the same taxes as we do. Will Smith may go on with life as planned, as will you and I, but we cannot forget to reflect on moments like this critically if we want to continue on as a just society.