What’s the expiration date on “asking celebrities what they think of Will Smith smacking Chris Rock”? I think it will probably be about two weeks? After that, people will seem like they’re bandwagoning onto a controversy, surely. So, the time’s not up yet, and A$AP Rocky was asked about the incident during a podcast interview. Rocky used the word “emasculated,” a word which few people have used, although the concept of emasculation has been a quiet theme of so many analyses of the Slap.
The 2022 Oscars may have taken place on Sunday night, but the celebrity opinions about the incident continue to roll in. A$AP Rocky is the latest to share his thoughts on Will Smith slapping Chris Rock for making a G.I. Jane joke about Jada Pinkett Smith while presenting the best documentary award.
“I’m a fan of Will, Jada, Chris, all of them. They OGs,” Rocky said in an upcoming episode of Drink Champs, which the podcast shared on Friday (April 1). “I think it’s unfortunate that, like, he emasculated another Black man in front of all them people like that. But I do think that, like, it’s some built-up s–t that probably wasn’t really targeted at Chris Rock. I don’t know. … Like what you said, it seems like it’s more than just a G.I. Jane joke.”
Let’s not kid ourselves – there are plenty of men saying that Will has been emasculated by Jada, because hurr durr why would he hit a bro over a woman. But sure, many men see it as Will not only disrespecting Chris Rock, but emasculating him. Particularly because, in my opinion, Will struck Chris with an open-handed slap. If Will wanted to significantly hurt Chris, he could have, and if Will wanted to punch Chris, he would have. This was Will literally smacking Jada’s name out of Chris’s mouth. As for “it seems like it’s more than just a G.I. Jane joke.” Yes, it was. Clearly.
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You can absolutely argue that Chris Rock started the emasculation cycle by going after a man’s wife in front of an audience. To me the subtext of that was ” Here I am, on the biggest night of your career, standing in front of your peers and I’m going to take you down a notch by going after your wife”.
And Will answered on the same level (emasculation for emasculation).
Both of them should absolutely be above playing those games but that’s an entirely different discussion.
I thought he slapped him because he was a slapping, not a punching, kind of guy. Like I could see The Rock punching a guy. But I could see Tom Cruise, Will Smith, or Jared Leto being the slapping type.
A slap is more emasculating than a punch. A slap demonstrates utter contempt.
In a way, it’s tit-for-tat. Rock took away Jada’s feminity, masculinised her, by comparing her to GI Jane, a woman who could only succeed in a male-dominated community by losing all female attributes. Smith removed Rock’s masculinity by giving him a slap of contempt.
This is how I saw it.
Guys tend to see that stuff in emasculating terms. They’re also missing that it’s kind of cowardly throwing jabs at the wife who is there to support her husband because you feel safe from any retaliation from her or her husband and think you’re in a space you can get away with it – all while pretending it was a harmless gag.
Smith was wrong but there’s a logic to why he did what he did, as I see it.
I don’t think it was emasculation.It was a lot of different stuff but this wasn’t it.
it’s called a “bitchslap” for this exact reason.
Surely you mean “hitchslap”
They’ll keep this topic going until it starts hitting on a useful and relevant vein of commentary/discussion for the Black community – at which point they’ll pack it up post haste. Until we get to that point, it going to get dragged out ad nauseum.
Meant to add Asap Rocky seems to imply that Smith had issues outside the situation that led to Rock getting slapped and that it was about something else hence “emasculating” the guy, when it seemed clear to me: Rock humiliated Jada on a global stage and Will paid that humiliation over to Chris on the very same stage.
Maybe Will guessed (correctly, so far) that Rock wasn’t ever going to apologize to Jada in any forum.
I’m getting tired that point being skipped or mitigated.
Black women’s hair gets mocked whether it’s long, short, clean shaven, natural, relaxed, wig, or weave. So it seems like the real intent is to find a Black woman in the crowd and humiliate her for existing. It gets old and plenty of Black women are tired of the excuses these ‘jokers’ hide behind.
I would also like to take this time to remind everyone that Chris Rock produced and appeared in a documentary called Good Hair about Black women’s hair…so he of all people should know how hurtful it is to talk about a Black woman’s hair, but he went after her anyway to get at her where she may hurt most. I have no sympathies for the man.
@Lemons-I know, wtf is going on with that?? it seems Chris is more interested in dollars than community, gah.
NJ – agreed. Deem ‘Good Hair’ a mockumentary now.
Will wanted him to shut-up. He was sick of hearing that annoying voice making an unfunny and dated joke at the expense of his wife.
Chris Rock’s emasculation is his own undoing, he should’ve picked on some one his own size and gender in a dialogue. It is called an equal fight.
I agree. How masculine does somebody who attacks women appear to be to begin with?
A slap is certainly more about dealing insult than injury, but whether that insult was meant to be emasculating is very much in the eye of the beholder.
For sure, it seemed like a gauntlet moment.
Gauntlet! 💯
Regardless of his opinion on the slap heard round the world, I am 100% here for that quilt snuggie.
ASAP is having a child with one of the most famous women in the world. The CR 2016 Oscar’s joke also mentioned (her panties) which is disgusting as well. I hope ASAP Rocky and his security team are ready to protect his family against the onslaught both public and private.
Yes exactly, I was so shocked this wasn’t the joke that was distasteful. Gross.
“What’s the expiration date on “asking celebrities what they think of Will Smith smacking Chris Rock”?
~That was Sunday. The Grammys put it to bed. From here forward it’s personal.
The fact that we are taking the concept of emasculation seriously in 2022 shows just how toxic and patriarchal our society is. A slap is emasculating? A joke is emasculating? Maybe all the men need to stop worrying about who was emasculated and start being better people.
THIS!
However, I am still waiting for Rock to apologize to Jada.
Keep waiting, sadly.
NCWoman, I couldn’t have stated facts better than this myself. Thank you.
CR, Be a better human. Publicly apologize to Jada. Trust me, this will help you. Cause right now I think you’re a huge POS, with or without the slap you greatly deserved. Gauntlet moment, indeed. Think about this – would anyone *ever* have made a jab about Rita Wilson? Would we have forgiven Tom Hanks if he had slapped Louis CK for calling out his wife? Apologize Chris Rock. You’re looking shabby.