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Dear Will Smith, Why The Apology?

You stood up for your wife and publicly slapped a man (Chris Rock) who insulted your wife…. I applaud your grit.  And so do all those people out there who live in constant fear of their loved ones being attacked. It could be a bunch of hoodlums whistling at your sister and passing lewd remarks, or it could be your wife’s colleague at work repeatedly inviting her out when she is not interested.

The misuse of the public space to humiliate your opponents, settle scores, or get even is a common curse to mankind. Your reaction in defending your wife made you a bigger hero than the one you play in King Richard. Ironically King Richard is about protecting one’s family. The way Richard Williams looks out for his daughters is the way we all ought to look out for our loved ones. There is a sequence in King Richard where you beat the shit out of a neighborhood Romeo who is troubling your daughter.  What should Richard have done?  Gifted the sadak-chhaap Romeo with a copy of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet on how to woo a woman in style?

What were you expected to do at the Oscars after Chris Rock insulted your wife?  Send him a memo on stage asking for an apology? Maybe. Violence is never the solution. Try explaining that to militants who mow down school kids in public attacks. Not to a man who reacts impulsively to his wife being heckled.

You acted on a protective impulse. You did nothing wrong. The public outcry against the slap is turning you defensive. Maybe you feel the Academy Awards will blacklist you. I wonder why nobody talks of blacklisting Chris Rock!  I guess it’s okay to insult. But it is not okay to react to the insult. When you smile away at cringe jokes at awards functions you encourage these wisecracking jerks to push further and further down the road of insolence.

Your slap came at the right time. It tells the world that, just because you have a powerful platform it doesn’t give you the right to insult and humiliate people. And even if the joke is at the expense of the star, it shouldn’t land on his family.

So, chin up, Will Smith. I think you deserve an added Oscar for standing up for your loved one. For those who think Mrs. Smith doesn’t need your support, I say she needs to know you care. That doesn’t make your wife weak. It just makes her proud.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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by Subhash K Jha
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