The Will Smith Slap Demonstrates a Fundamental Flaw in Society's Model of Success
Adult babies in adult playgrounds
Will Smith has never quite sat well with me.
There’s no doubt his films are captivating. (I’ve lost count of how many times “The Pursuit of Happyness” has made me cry.)
A few months ago I read the book of his life story written by Mark Manson.
Suddenly the cracks started to appear.
The moment that changed history forever
Most of you know Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock recently.
I watched it live on TV. The moment horrified me. One minute Will was laughing at the joke from Chris.
The next minute he got out of his seat and man-slapped Chris Rock.
The comment Chris made was about Will’s wife’s shaved head. It was obviously a joke and extremely light-hearted.
The slap, at first, felt staged.
You’ve got to remember the Oscars are a room full of actors grouped together to get awards, only a few miles away from Hollywood.
Will has plenty to promote. A slap to the face would have created the type of healthy controversy that sells books or movies.
When he sat back down I changed my mind.
He started hurling abuse at Chris from his seat. Everybody was silent. He had no mic yet you could hear the multiple f-bombs loud and clear.
I felt sick. Any respect I had for him went up in smoke.
Anger is so ugly, especially when it’s broadcast live in front of the world.
Special treatment
What struck me was, no security guards stopped him from walking up on stage.
After the debacle he didn’t get exited from the building. Yet if you or I had assaulted someone we’d be taken away in a police car in handcuffs.
The worst part is after the slap event he won best actor. The Academy could have changed the winner at the last minute. However, they didn’t.
Will got the Oscar. He apologized – but not to Chris.
The victory speech came across as a man on the edge. Dare I say, suicidal (perhaps).
To make things worse the audience of fellow actors gives him a standing ovation – right after an assault.
Hollywood actors are literally clueless. They do whatever the other sheep do, as long as it gets them ahead in their careers.
Adult babies in adult playgrounds
We’re all sick of Hollywood.
Movies are great to watch, but the actors we watch on screen – who become devils behind the scenes – are too much.
They live by different rules. They’re overpaid for what they do. They’re emotionally fragile at best.
I’d never let my future kid join Hollywood. The chance of mental health issues, drug problems, or developing an ego that ruins their life is too great.
Why his wife has issues with him
In Will’s book about his life we get a glimpse at the problem from another angle.
On her birthday Will creates a special surprise event. It’s so big it makes the word ‘extravagant’ seem microscopic.
There’s a 20-yard-long flowered walkway with all of her favorite artists. Mary J Blige performs. Every family member comes along to the exotic location to be there.
At the end Will gets everybody to watch a special documentary he has made about her family. It features the voice of her dead grandmother (creepy). Heaps of time was spent getting all the audio of her voice to make it work. I suspect some AI was used.
The film took years to make and became one mammoth project for Will.
When the credits rolled everyone gave him a massive standing ovation.
His wife stayed silent.
They got back to the hotel room.
“That was the most disgusting display of ego I have ever seen in my life!”
By always trying to be the best and most successful, he’d become unrecognizable.
Success can quickly become a huge ego if you’re not careful.
Society's model of success is broken
This all boils down to one thing: ego.
Will’s ego is out of control. He thinks he’s the center of the universe. When he assaults someone in front of millions of tv viewers he believes a simple apology is enough.
He’s smart enough to know that without an apology his Oscar will be taken away.
People have had enough of douchebags getting away with murder.
Society thinks fame and riches are the path to happiness. It’s why so many wannabes are flocking to TikTok to become their generation’s version of Will Smith.
You know what? F*ck fame.
I don’t want it. I want to write for a small audience and be known by no one. I want my ego to remain small so I don’t end up slapping a good man like Chris Rock in the face to look tough on TV.
Society has it all wrong.
Going big equals family problems.
Going big makes you a tightarse with money.
Going big makes all other areas of life a total disaster.
The world needs more small. Because too many big personalities turn society toxic. That’s why we have this damn war too.
This instalment of Unfiltered is free for everyone. I send this email weekly. If you would also like to receive it, join the 50,000+ other smart people who absolutely love it today.
👉 If you enjoyed reading this post, feel free to share it with friends!
Exactly! I can't believe he was partying with everyone else afterward. Talk about one set of rules for us and another for them... It's another knock to freedom of speech allowing a comedian to be assaulted for doing their job.
I wholeheartedly agree, but I still believe big personalities are needed to lead us by their good examples, we, however, have to remind them from time to time who they are, what responsibilities they bear and where they come from in the first place.