Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Says Will Smith ‘Perpetuated Stereotypes About Black Community’

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar weighs in Will Smith’s infamous attack on Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. (Photo: Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Will Smith sent shockwaves around the world when he slapped comedian Chris Rock during the live broadcast of the Oscars on Sunday.

The incident sparked a range of reactions, with some arguing that Smith had done the right thing to defend his wife, while others said Smith’s attack should at least result in disciplinary action from the Academy.

Now, NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is expressing his own feelings on the matter, writing a blog post arguing that Smith’s actions are a “blow to men, women, the entertainment industry and the black community.”

“In a single stubborn swipe, he advocated violence, diminished women, insulted the entertainment industry and perpetuated stereotypes about the black community,” Abdul-Jabbar writes of Smith, echoing Today’s Craig Melvin’s opinion on Monday that it was “troubling.” on so many levels” for people of color.

Rock, who presented an award for Best Documentary, had made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s baldness and said: “Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2 – I can’t wait to see it,” a nod to the 1997 film starring Demi More, in which the main character has a shaved head.

As Pinkett Smith, who is open about living with alopecia (a condition that caused her to lose sections of her hair and shaved her hair), she rolled her eyes at the joke as her husband marched onto the stage and rock in the face suggested to millions of television viewers before returning to his seat.

“Keep my wife’s name out of your damn mouth,” he yelled twice at Rock from the audience.

Millions of viewers watched as Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock in the face at the Oscars before returning to his seat. (Photo: Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Abdul-Jabbar argues the incident was more than just a slap on rock, but rather a “slap on women”.

“By hitting Rock, he was proclaiming that his wife wasn’t able to fight back — against words,” he says. “This patronizing, fatherly attitude infantilizes women, reducing them to helpless virgins who need a tall, strong man to defend their honor lest they faint. If he really had been doing it for his wife and not for his own need to prove himself, he might have thought of the negative attention this was garnering them much harder than the benign joke. That really would have been to defend and respect her.”

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“These ‘women need men to defend them’ is the same justification currently being proclaimed by conservatives passing legislation restricting abortion and the LGBTQ+ community,” he continued, adding that Smith’s “self-serving acceptance speech” in which he spoke of protecting his family as well, his character in King Richard, for which he won an Oscar, was unmusical.

“Those who protect don’t brag about it in front of 15 million people,” he explained. “They just do it and shut up. You don’t do it as a movie ad claiming you’re like the character you just won an award for. But of course the speech was about justifying his violence. Apparently so many people need Smith’s protection that occasionally it gets too much and someone has to be punched.”

Abdul-Jabbar also argued that actions like Smith’s bring back a “toxic bro ideal” that can harm young men, especially men of color. In fact, Smith’s son Jaden later took to Twitter after the incident and boastfully wrote: “And this is how we do it.“

“Young boys – especially black boys – who see their movie idol not only hit another man over a joke but then justify his being a superhero-like protector are now much more apt to follow in his childhood footsteps,” he explained. adding, “One of the main talking points of those who support systemic racism in America is the characterization of black people as more prone to violence and less able to control their emotions. Smith only comforted the enemy by providing them with the perfect optics they dreamed of.”

Will Smith and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the set of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which starred the NBA star as himself, in the 1990s. (Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank)

Abdul-Jabbar, who worked with Smith on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the 1990s, added that the actor was a “charming, genuine, and funny” man, noting that he was a “huge fan of his films.” . But while admiring Smith’s work, the NBA player advised the audience to think more deeply about the incident.

“I don’t want him to be punished or ostracized for that one mistake, albeit a major one,” he said of Smith. “I just want this to be a cautionary tale for others not to romanticize or glorify bad behavior. And I want Smith to be the man who really protects others – by admitting that he has harmed others.”

After the Oscar show wrapped, Smith enjoyed the after-party celebrations — including dancing to “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” while the partygoers gathered around him, enjoying every moment. It was later reported that Rock elected not to press charges against Smith, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Smith later took to Instagram to apologize to Rock, the Academy and his fans.

“Violence in all its forms is poisonous and destructive,” Smith wrote in part. “My behavior at the Oscars last night was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s health was too much for me and I reacted emotionally.”

“I want to publicly apologize to you, Chris,” he continued. “I was out of line and I was wrong. I’m embarrassed and my actions were no indication of the man I want to be. In a world of love and kindness there is no place for violence.”