Why Will Smith Should Be Prosecuted for Slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars

It’s never okay to use violence

Will Smith, one of the most beloved actors on the planet, has found himself on the night that should have been one of his greatest, because he won an Oscar, mired in controversy.

After Chris Rock dropped a tasteless joke about his wife, alluding to her hair loss — she suffers from alopecia, so it was especially tasteless — he marched onto the stage and slapped Chris Rock across the face. He then returned to his seat and started shouting expletives, demanding Chris Rock not speak of his wife.

Right now, we should be talking about the joke, and how it has no place in the modern world. After all, it’s never funny to joke about people suffering from health conditions. More importantly than that, we should be talking about how Will Smith has just won an Oscar. We should be talking about the film King Richard and its amazing story of overcoming the odds. Instead, we are talking about a man who charged another man during a live TV performance watched by millions around the world and slapped him in the face.

If this was 20 years back most people would probably say that Chris Rock got what he deserved for making such a joke, but as a society, we know better now — at least we are supposed to. Such…