HR leaders, employment lawyer weigh in on the controversy between Will Smith and Chris Rock
WrestleMania came one week early, as tensions flared during the 94th Academy Awards.
After comedian Chris Rock made a joke comparing actress Jada Pinkett Smith to G.I. Jane, her husband Will Smith ascended the stage. Believing his wife’s shaved head – a result of alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss – wasn’t laughing matter, the Hollywood superstar slapped Rock in front of the world. Then, he sat back down and shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your (expletive) mouth!”
Attendees were stunned, and viewers at home fled to social media to wonder if it was part of the show. Smith wasn’t ejected from the event, and Rock declined to press charges, so there are still skeptics who claim the incident was a publicity stunt. Smith, who went on to win the Oscar for Best Actor later in the night, has since taken to Instagram to apologize to Rock.
People are still debating the legal ramifications, though, considering that Rock could sue Smith for battery under California law. Although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences wouldn’t be the employer in this situation, Brian L. Lerner, partner at Fort Lauderdale, FL-based Kim Vaughan Lerner LLP, considers the incident an interesting workplace discussion for HR leaders.
“Almost every company has anti-violence policies in their handbooks,” Lerner told HRD. “Effectively, he’s at a work event and he slapped someone. The...
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