The dust hasn’t settled completely on the slap seen round the world. Just a couple of days ago I glanced at a short satire of how actor Will Smith might have trained for the event. I was disgusted to see the piece and profoundly disappointed to encounter it where it was published. Was the slap ill-considered? Absolutely. Was Mr. Smith’s apology contrite and sincere? Yes. Is there anything else to be said about Mr. Smith? No.
There’s still much to be said about Chris Rock and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The Academy, in its April 8 announcement of Mr. Smith’s ten-year exile from Academy events, made two things abundantly clear. The first is that any act of violence at all on the Academy stage crosses the line and must be met with excessive censure. The second is that any joke a comedian tells on the Academy stage, including the mocking of someone’s disability or affliction, has no such line to cross.
The incident at the Oscars has a recognizable counterpart. In November 2015, Donald Trump, then the Republican candidate for US President, came under fire for appearing to mock New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski for his disability. Mr. Kovaleski suffers from a congenital condition of the joints called arthrogryposis that restricts the movement of his arms. Is this condition life-threatening? No. Does it hamper Mr. Kovaleski in his career? Some, probably. Did he choose to have it? Definitely not. Most people at the time agreed that Mr. Trump had crossed a line, but the furor died down and he faced no consequences.
The actress Jada Pinkett Smith is afflicted with a condition called alopecia areata which causes (in her case) baldness in spots on her head. She has chosen to shave her head (putatively in order to minimize the visibility of the condition). Is this condition life-threatening? No. Does it hamper Ms. Pinkett Smith in her career? Likely some. Did she choose to have it? Definitely not. Have there been any consequences for Mr. Rock because of this abusive remark? None. In fact, the only fundamental difference between these two incidents is that in the case of the most recent one, it was attended by no real furor at all.
Did the politician and the comedian both cross a line? Let’s consider. Most people with disabilities suffer from them in some way, whether or not it involves pain. In some cases, there are simply things they cannot do which is in itself a difficult (and often psychologically painful) reality. For example, my life partner of over forty years and I have never been able to take a stroll on the beach together much less play tennis or go bicycling. In other cases, the suffering is psychological based on low self-esteem or dysphoria. A good example here is someone disfigured at birth, through illness, or by accident. Often, it’s a combination of both. Consequently, on the surface of it if we mock a disability, then we are mocking the suffering of the afflicted individual as well.
Let’s take the inquiry a step further. So far, we’ve established that people do not chose to be disabled and further that these involuntary disabilities are attended by some suffering whether small or large in scale. The follow-on question is, “since these people are damaged, are they not a burden to society?’ Surely that is fair game for mockery. Stephen Hawking was no burden to society. Isaac Perlman isn’t either. Nor is Jada Pinkett Smith. “Yes,” you reply, “but they’re all rich and famous.” Okay, then, how about Serge Kovaleski? Still too well-known? Then take my friend Dan who has spinal muscular atrophy and is totally wheelchair bound. He figured out how to ride the bus (by himself) so he could put himself through college learning to code, then figured out how to ride the trains in Los Angeles (also by himself) so he could fulfill his dream of writing code for the Disney Company. He has since found love, married, and added roll up comedy (his joke) to his repertoire. The only disabled jokes he tells are about the humorous side of his own disability, told in a way to highlight the scope of his daily struggle (picture being paralyzed and having a wasp crawl up your pant leg and there’s nobody around to help). Have I still not convinced you? How about Julie, born without legs and just the stubs of upper arms. She can drive herself in a specially outfitted van, is a reservation agent for a major airline, and sells high end fingernail polish as a side hustle (and no, the irony of having no fingers but selling polish is lost on nobody). So far, there’s nothing here to mock. There’s lots to admire, but little to make fun of.
Perhaps the indignities suffered by people with disabilities are mockable. I mentioned my life partner. Years ago, she drove an electric scooter around the city in which we lived, carrying her two small boys (one on her lap and one on the platform). Invariably someone would wave and smile and say, “Wish I had one of those!” They were perhaps well-meaning but utterly insensitive to the situation. It was all my partner could do not to respond, “Care to trade places?” How about having a stranger come up to you in a grocery store and move you in your wheelchair without asking because you were in the way? Or someone chiding you for lack of true faith in Jesus because you can’t walk. Or be admonished for not bringing your own wheelchair ramp to an inaccessible (read ADA non-compliant) place of business. Yeah, really. No humor here either.
So, did the politician and the comedian both cross a line? The answer is yes. Donald Trump and Chris Rock both went too far. Mocking anyone for something over which they have no control is abuse irrespective of the apparent scope of the affliction. Mr. Trump we can dismiss out of hand but Mr. Rock we can’t. Mr. Rock is an intelligent and seasoned professional and he knew precisely what he was saying. He chose to be abusive. A joke is funnier when someone suffers as a result, right? That’s Mr. Rock’s approach to humor and it’s neither funny nor right. To date, Mr. Rock has shown no remorse for the comment. But then, why should he? He was canonized by the Academy.
Comedy is a tough business, even more so today because so many things that were accepted as funny forty or more years ago are no longer permissible. There is genuine resentment about the “oppression” of our politically correct (a term from the 1990s) or woke environment but think about it. Where indeed is the humor in ridiculing someone for the color of skin they were born with or their accent or their disability? Jerry Lewis would have a tough time today. And yet, we have successful latter-day Lewises in comedians such as Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock whose stock in trade is to make a room full of people laugh by skewering some minority group. Mr. Chappelle’s specialty is the demeaning of transgender people.
It’s not that their entire routines are built around such abuse, but both comedians use abusive material like their favorite pepper blend thrown in here and there to punch up the seasoning. Mr. Rock’s routine at the Academy Awards exemplifies this penchant. He began with a keen observation regarding Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, a married couple both up for Best Actor/Actress awards. Rock postulated how uncomfortable the husband might be if his wife didn’t win and he did, and how he might secretly be wishing that Will Smith win instead. A terrific joke based on human nature and relationships, told at nobody’s expense. Then Mr. Rock made a quick segue to accent the joke but instead of following with a similar human nature “what if” about Mr. Smith’s domestic bliss should he win, chose out of the blue to cast a personal dig at Ms. Pinkett Smith using her medical condition as a barb. Slap! Some ingredients don’t belong in any recipe.
To be honest, I believe that human nature and the randomness of life supply such ample grounds for humor that we shouldn’t miss mean-spirited comedy at all. Despite his personal foibles, Bill Cosby delighted generations with his observations about the insanity of family life. Not only could he take the simplest things and make us laugh, but he could make us see ourselves as well. Similarly, Bob Newhart framed his career around recognizing the humor in the slightly bent nature of people and their notions. But even he had his non-woke moments; his “Buried Alive” sketch is hurtful and offensive for people with mental illness and their families. It would never fly today. The bottom line is that in all things we should choose our words wisely.
I stated at the beginning that there was nothing else to be said about Will Smith. I lied. Mr. Smith spoke during his acceptance speech about being a protector. I now enjoin him to step out of his comfort zone (even more so than he already has) and truly be a protector not just for his family but for misunderstood and marginalized people everywhere. This includes standing up with us against the mockery and/or vilification of people with disabilities, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and people who will never share the wealth and status that he and Mr. Rock enjoy. He has the platform that we don’t. It won’t be easy, but as we’ve already learned, the right thing rarely is.
Reference Links
Film of the moment in question
Film of Mr. Trump mocking reporter Serge Kovaleski
Erica and Friends 