by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
It seems as though The Academy is taking the, “let’s slow walk any attempt at accountability and hope people forget” approach to holding Will Smith accountable for The Slap. At the moment, I think there’s a fair chance they may get away with it. Even though The Slap has entered the general zeitgeist, it’s fading down to a simmer really fast.
And, what’s more, America is so divided that the usual suspects of racism and identity politics are getting involved, making it even more difficult to come to some consensus as to what should be done.
There is a possibility that by the time The Academy reaches a point where it has to make a decision, whatever they decide will barely be a blip in the public’s consciousness.
What I want is Will Smith to stop being so damn cocky and to show some public remorse. He’s done absolutely nothing to indicate he honestly feels regret for his behavior and, as such, it seems as though our current post-accountability era strikes again.
Trump and his cronies aren’t the only people above the law, it appears.
It’s too late for the thing that should have happened — Smith not be able to enjoy his big night for winning the Oscar — to happen. So, in a sense, there’s a real chance he’ll escape any accountability at all.
He won’t have a Red Table talk with his wife about what happened. And he won’t have any type of cathartic moment with Oprah. The whole thing will fade from the public’s mind and simply be something that comics can reference for a easy joke because it’s something everyone knows enough about to get.
In the end, it seems Chris Rock will be the one to get the last laugh. For the time being, his composure after The Slap has made him something of a martyr for the comic comedy. And may get a Netflix special out of, too. The SNL family is going to have his back and there’s a reasonable chance that it will be SNL that strikes back this weekend. But, as I’ve said before, given how The Tonight Show pulled its punches on happened, even that might be something of a let down.
