Colman Noctor: Will Smith incident raises the question of whether violence is ever acceptable

There are very few scenarios where physical violence is a viable option, with the exception being self-defence

Mon, 28 Mar, 2022 - 14:59

Colman Noctor

Is there ever a circumstance where violence is acceptable? This is a debate that has dominated many discussions today since the incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars ceremony last night.

The incident involved Rock making a joke about Smith’s wife's (Jada Pinkett Smith) alopecia. Rock referenced her suitability for the sequel to GI-Jane where the lead character has a bald head. Smith took exception to this remark and approached the stage and smacked Rock. Upon returning to his seat he exclaimed ‘Take my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth’.

The response has been mixed, from those believing that Smith was right to defend his wife’s honour, to those who have been condemned his reaction suggesting that ‘violence is never acceptable. So, who is right?

Disproportionate reaction

In my view, there are no winners here. Rock’s remark about Pinkett-Smith’s auto-immune condition was nasty, unwarranted and frankly not funny. Equally, Smith’s reaction was disproportionate and did him no favours in terms of garnering much support for his view of Rock’s humour. So, neither individual has come out of this looking well.

Some believe that ‘where language fails, behaviour takes over’, which suggests that people resort to violence when they do not have the words to express their upset or anger, or they do not have the voice/ platform to express their views, or simply there are no words that can express adequately how they feel. In this instance, Smith may have been experiencing all three of these dynamics.

Sometimes it is best to try to understand ‘why’ someone does something, as opposed to focusing on ‘what’ they did. Will Smith is known for being an affable, charismatic and all-round ‘good guy’. So this behaviour would not seem to fit with what we know of him. But in Smith’s 2006 autobiography he recalled that as a child he witnessed domestic violence at home when his father assaulted his mother. Smith discussed at length how, in that instance, he felt powerless to defend his mother and reported how his inaction haunts him to this day. Perhaps it was this experience that led him to overreact in such a dramatic manner to Rock’s comments last night. Perhaps there was something in the joke that ‘hit a nerve’ for Smith, thereby contributing to his outburst. It may be the case that Smith has been having decades of regret, and this incident was an opportunity to avenge his mother?

Smith was in the running to be awarded the Best Actor award for the first time in his career, and no doubt emotions were running high, and maybe his parents were at the forefront of his mind, which resulted in him acting in this seemingly uncharacteristic way.

‘Transference’ is a psychodynamic concept that explains how we can ‘experience a current event with the emotional weight of the past’ and react from a position of how this makes us feel, which may seem out of kilter with the event. This dynamic is different to the well-worn term of being ‘triggered’ as it can be unconscious and not something that we are aware of or can make sense of at the time.

This is by no means an excuse for Smith’s behaviour but it may go some way to explain it. In my view, there are very few scenarios where physical violence is a viable option, with the exception of self-defence. But perhaps Smith’s actions were an attempt at defence. To defend his wife, to defend his mother and his family. However, the attack by Rock was a verbal one and so a verbal defence may well have been more palatable for onlookers and those who are judging his behaviour today.

I have an idea that few people are feeling as bad as Will Smith is today, as he reflects on his actions in the cold light of day.

There is a worry that his actions may set a precedent that it is OK to attack people on stage, which would be a very unfortunate unintended consequence.

In his apology, Smith referenced the role of celebrities being to have to take abuse on the chin. But alongside that role is a responsibility to act proportionately. But I also hope Chris Rock reflects on his actions this morning and reconsiders what is classed as funny. Because in my view a swipe at someone’s medical condition falls short of that, not because of any ‘woke’ tendencies on my behalf, merely because I simply don’t find it funny.

Did this event warrant the violent response? No. Are there explanations as to why Smith reacted the way he did? Perhaps, yes. Does this excuse his actions? No. If it was a non-celebrity that had reacted that way would they have been permitted to return to their seat and receive their award? Definitely not. Are there any winners from last night’s altercation? No.