The Slap Heard Around the World

by Jahari Henry, Staff Writer

The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.

In the span of 72 hours Will Smith the beloved international superstar has gone from the fun loving romer fresh prince to the most polarizing man in the world all from the result of an unremarkable joke. An explanation of what occurred is not necessary because if you haven’t heard you've been living under a rock. The fallout from the instantly infamous moment is still in full momentum and as the story continuously evolves so has the court of public opinion. The Jaguar Times had the opportunity to talk to some students about the moment and gather their opinions on the widely publicized moment

Aiman Salam (12) believes that if “he hadn't slapped Chris Rock and released a statement saying he was offended by the comment everyone would've been angry at Rock.: Salam boiled the incident down to “ a classic case of no self control.” and he believes that the incident will get Smith blacklisted from the Hollywood establishment. This sentiment was the prevailing theme of all the students interviewed as Andrew Burnett (12) says “the joke was fine, and light hearted and that it shouldn't have been taken seriously.” Characterizing Smith’s behavior as a “MAJOR overreach”

In my personal opinion I do believe that Smith had a horrible lapse in judgment and that his slap of Chris Rock was very unprofessional, unnecessary and above all uncharacteristic of a Smith who has been in the public eye for over three decades. However, I am also someone who believes in giving people margin and grace. His actions were inexcusable, yes, but for a figure who has been in the limelight for so long, controversy has never been a consistent marker of his image and I don’t believe one controversy entitles random people on the internet to make judgments of Smith’s character.