SMITH VOTED "BEST" BUT ROCK'S THE REAL WINNER

Sunday night on the Oscars, the world saw rapper-turned-actor, Will Smith, deliver his biggest hit yet - a slap to comedian’s Chris Rock’s face.

Yup. "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star physically assaulted Rock live on The Oscars telecast - a first ever for the show.

There were other "firsts" as well - uplifting ones that is - like the fact in its nearly 100 year history, there were two black female hosts - Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes - and that Will Packard is the first African-American, along with an all black team, to produce the show.

As the Oscar’s attempt to diversify both in front of and behind the camera, partly in response to the #Oscarsowhite controversy, these "firsts" were now overshadowed by Smith’s assault, stemming from a joke made by Rock toward Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett.

"Jada," said Rock as he called out to get her attention while standing at the podium before he delivered the punchline that will ultimately cast a shadow over the ceremony: 

"GI Jane 2. I can't wait to see it!"

(The joke was an apparent reference to Demi Moore's 1997 flick, GI Jane, where her character shaves her head bald in the film. Jada has publicly stated that her baldness is partly due to alopecia, an auto-immune disease.)

Audience members laughed at the joke - even Will!

But a mere five seconds later, the "King Richard" star approaches the podium where he delivers the now infamous smackdown to Chris. 

The about-face was baffling. One minute, Smith was seen snickering and the next he was violent. Did he have a sudden flashback when he played Muhammad Ali?

Oh and he hurled obscenities, too.

“Keep my wife’s name out of your [expletive] mouth," he yelled at Rock. Not once, but twice!

Again, baffling, as fans of Smith have never seen this side of him before. Even in his rap songs, the West Philly native doesn't swear!

Forty five minutes later, a contrite Smith approached the podium for his acceptance speech as Best Actor. He then apologized to the Williams' family and the Academy, but not to Rock. In fact, he seemed to justify his assault against the comedian, drawing parallels to the character he played in the film - Venus and Serena's Dad, Richard - as both protectors of their families.

"Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family," Smith said.

Okay, now I'm completely baffled. 

Why did one of Hollywood's biggest leading men feel the need to "protect" his wife from Rock when the latter showed absolutely no signs of aggression? 

If anyone needed protecting and defending that night, it was Rock from Smith's violent hands. 

What we witnessed from Smith was a complete overreaction due to toxic masculinity. He should have been immediately arrested for assault instead of being allowed to stay seated and later give an acceptance speech amid kudos from peers.

And speaking of peers...

Where was the outrage as one of their own just acted out an assault on stage? The often outspoken left-leaning Hollywood crowd was conspicuously silent during the incident yet cheered when Smith won top prize. They all seemed to pretend the act of violence that we all witnessed forty five minutes earlier didn't happen, even going as far as giving Smith a standing ovation for his win.

But the real winner that night was actually Chris Rock. Kudos to him. He is the one who showed courage, class and composure. Can you imagine what a spectacle it would have been had he not? 

The Academy is now debating the consequences of the fall out. Let's hope the punishment for Will Smith is a huge slap in the face.

Just my two cents.

I refuse to post the viral video of the assault, so instead, you get to see Will Smith's full acceptance speech below. Please share your thoughts about the controversy.