It WAS a GI Jane Joke

By Calvin Hill

Remember when Demi Moore appeared at an awards show with a close-cropped haircut? When asked about it, she said it was for a movie she was filming. The movie turned out to be GI Jane. At last recollection, Jada Pinkett Smith is an actor, and like many in that profession they make adjustments to their appearance for the sake of their craft.

For all those trying to make this about misogyny, race, or a half-dozen things other than comedy, I will loan you the grip I have to get whenever I veer off my cerebral senses. Chris Rock would have made the same joke about Jessica Chastain, Nicole Kidman or any other A-list white actress if they showed up with a close haircut and the audience laughter would have been identical. The only difference is that Keith Urban would not have stormed the stage and he and wife, Kidman, would have laughed because they got it – just as Will Smith and Lupita Nyongo laughed because they got it. It was funny. It was not malicious or mean-spirited.

Actors shave their heads all the time to play cancer patients and military recruits. The more vain ones wear a bald piece or shorthaired wig. There have been a sickening number of countless personalities opining that maybe Chris Rock did not know about Jada’s alopecia because they also did not know, and quite a few black personalities complaining that Rock was insensitive about a black woman’s hair. But the joke was not about hair, or alopecia, or illness, nor was it insensitive. It was a joke about a hypothetical sequel to one movie requiring a certain look for a female actor and it was told in the premier movie lover’s venue. If Will Smith had not stopped laughing and negatively responded to his wife’s disappointed eye roll, all of this wild-eyed speculation and the inundation of hurt feelings from champions of bourgeois indignation, the people would be talking about the victors, the hosts and the best lines.

Just as many of those who did not know of Jada’s ailment, Chris Rock probably has much better things to do with his life and career than catch up with the happenings on episodes of Red Table Talk. Rather cringe worthy, and a lot less funny, was host Regina Hall’s bit including the married Will Smith with single men and adding that it had been approved by his wife. Though Will and Jada’s marriage has been a TMI smorgasbord, Ms. Hall has not been publicly lambasted for being insensitive concerning what is allegedly known about the Smiths. Apparently, no public slaps were needed there to defend anyone’s love or honor.

Will Smith should know, first hand, that his angry assault and profane outburst at Rock was not a noble or honorable defense – nor was his Oscar acceptance speech. I would wager that admitting, “Love makes you do crazy things,” is a very common proclamation made before judges just before they have to issue a restraining order.

This overreaction to a good joke must be a therapist’s dream. The crowd standing on the anxiety ledge over this needs to take a deep breath and calm down. Then they can start all over again this weekend after Saturday Night Live gets finished with it. And by next year, at family viewing time, it may not seem so weird when the Oscar broadcast begins with a disclaimer: Due to violence and adult language, this program may not be suitable for children.