A member of the British Parliament has extended an invitation to Will Smith on Monday to discuss the Oscar-winning actor slapping comedian Chris Rock in the face during an award show Sunday night.
Conservative MP Dehenna Davison penned a letter to Smith, chastising him for the slap and requesting he speak to the All Party Parliamentary Group on One Punch Assaults, which raises awareness on how one punch can kill someone. Davison’s father had died from a single punch.
“While I found Rock’s joke in the poorest taste, I was very disappointed to see you use your substantial platform not for good, but for the promotion of violence,” Davison said. “I too have a deep desire to defend a loved one. When I was thirteen, my father was killed by a single blow to the head. My life was turned upside down, and it was this that led to me getting involved in politics.”
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Davison said the invitation was to help educate Smith on how fatal one blow can be by listening to testimonies from people who have also lost someone from a single punch.
The incident with Smith occurred Sunday night during the Academy Awards when Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife having a shaved head, claiming she looked like she was in GI Jane 2. In response to the comment, Smith got on the stage and slapped Rock. Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, has been vocal about living with alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss.
After decades in the entertainment industry, Smith won his first Academy Award Sunday night. He has been nominated multiple times in the past.
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Despite Davison’s opposition, other members of Parliament held a different view of the incident. North Dorset MP Simon Hoare said if he were in Smith’s shoes, he would have gone further than one punch. Labor party leader Keir Starmer said punching someone is wrong but acknowledged someone making fun of a loved one’s health stirs emotions.
