Will Smith’s Slap Sparked An Unexpected Chain Reaction

Will Smith’s big moment, the slap heard around the world, inspired some truly deranged discourse, as though it was anything other than an out-of-touch egotist slapping a comedian for a lame, culturally irrelevant joke.

But the slap is still rippling through celebrity circles, as everyone seems to have an opinion to share; Tiffany Haddish described it as “the most beautiful thing I ever seen,” Michael Che called it a “childish overreaction,” while Amy Schumer found herself “triggered and traumatized,” for some reason.

Many of the celebrities who spoke critically of Smith seemed to have awakened a gargantuan Smith fandom, who seem to have been sleeping all these years, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

Jim Carrey didn’t mince his words, describing himself as “sickened” by the standing ovation for Smith in the wake of the slap, showing Hollywood to be “spineless,” an indication that we aren’t the cool club anymore.”

In response, Twitter users quickly compiled a list of all the weird and inappropriate things Carrey has done, such as his promotion of anti-vaxx propaganda, and the time he forced himself on Alicia Silverstone on stage, while being presented with a comedy award for The Cable Guy.

Zoe Kravitz posted her Oscars outfit on Instagram, and condemned Smith in her caption, writing, “here’s a picture of my dress at the show where we are apparently assaulting people on stage now.”

Instantly, some weird quotes from Kravitz were unearthed from a 2013 interview, in which she makes inappropriate comments about Will Smith’s son, Jaden, who was 14 at the time (Kravitz was 24). Kravitz said:

“There were moments that I was hanging out with Jaden and thinking, I can’t believe you’re 14, I have to check myself, like what I say to you. He has so much personality and so much swag, he is so much cooler than I am. And he’s so handsome, I was always like, when you’re older, you know, we’ll hang out … Nope, that’s inappropriate, you’re 14.”

Kravitz’s friendship with designer Alexander Wang was also brought up, as Wang has been accused of sexual assault by at least 11 people.

Hailey Bieber and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also came under fire for daring to criticize Smith, with fanatical fans frantically pulling out “receipts” of problematic behaviour. For Smith fans, it seems that if Will is canceled, then everyone else is too. That’s the thing about celebrities – they always seem to have something insidious lurking in their closet, waiting to be unearthed.

But it all came full circle, back to Smith himself, as critics uncovered old footage of Smith making an alopecia joke, just like the comedian he slapped.

But it didn’t stop there, as the public began to dig into the tangled ruins of Smith’s personal life; for better or worse, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith live their life very much in the public eye, and have been extremely open about their marital problems – arguably, too open.

The reveals have led to a frenzy of speculation about why exactly Smith snapped; after all, the slap was hardly the act of a healthy, happy, well-adjusted man, about to receive an award recognizing a lifetime of achievement.

It was a feeding frenzy, a mass-cancelation, and a reminder of how quickly the internet can turn on you; after all, Kravitz was the queen of the internet just a few weeks ago, hot off the heels of a good Batman movie.

However, in the messy aftermath of the slap, one celebrity did manage to emerge on top – Chris Rock. Rock’s latest comedy tour, Ego Death, has seen a surge of interest following the Oscars, with ticket prices skyrocketing in the resale market.

Of course, none of the Twitter drama will be remembered in a week or so, but Smith’s slap is going down in Hollywood history, as the weirdest Oscar night ever.