...a fantastic, real and hateful slapping life...

 

 Image via Getty/Adam Berry

Graffiti art by Dominican artist Jesus Cruz Artiles (also known as Eme Freethinker) on a ancient Berlin Wall´s section, depicting the night actor Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles

 

I hate what happened Sunday. I hate that what happened Sunday happened.

I hate that Sunday was a violent display of opulence.

I hate that no one cared. I hate that everyone cared.

I hate that I watched it, and then watched it again, and then slowed it down because I couldn’t believe that it’d happened.

I hate that I joined the voices on social media.

I hate that my first response was to joke about it. And as much as I hate the hate that hate created,

I hate us. All of us.

I hate everything.

I hate Chris Rock and his underwhelming, highly offensive joke.

I hate Will Smith for dragging us into this.

I hate everyone’s hot take except for this one.

I hate hot takes.

I refused to write a hot take because I knew everyone was going to have a hot take.

This is not a hot take. It’s a hate take.

I hate the images. I hate the conversations.

I hate the academy. I hate Roman Polanski.

I hate the misdirection tweets — you know, the ones that start talking about Sunday only to remind us that Antarctica is melting or that Ukraine is at war with Russia.

I hate that we can multitask. So we never forget that Antarctica is melting or that the people of Ukraine are suffering.

But mostly, I hate the celebrities that have joined teams.

Team Will or Team Chris.

I hate teams.

I hate Amy Schumer and her Karen-esque response. I hate that it involved her “being triggered” and “traumatized” or something days after.

I hate how this had nothing to do with her, and yet, here we are.

I hate that this was an actual televised Black-on-Black crime.

I hate that white people now feel comfortable speaking about Black folks’ business.

I hate Diddy for lying.

I hate that Amanda Seales tweeted this, and then was called out for this.

I hate that at one point I thought Tom Segura was a funny comedian, and then Sunday happened and he felt real comfortable calling Jada Pinkett-Smith a “bald-headed bitch.”

I hate that Black women never feel protected.

I hate that they have to put up with this.

I hate that being starved for protection made some feel like Sunday was called for.

It was not, and I hate that for Black women.

I hate Joe Rogan. He’s got nothing to do with this, but I hate him, too.

Wait, yes he does because he had a hot take and I didn’t read it but I’m sure I hate it.

I hate Red Table Talks.

We are probably going to have a Red Table Talk.

We are definitely going to have a Red Table Talk.

I hate that for us.

I hate the access we have to celebrities. I hate that they can send out whatever they feel in real time. I hate that Sunday happened and now, I hate Zoe Kravitz.

I hate that Black Twitter had CVS receipts for the entire Kravitz family.

I hate everyone in the Kravitz family besides Lisa Bonet.

I will not hate Lisa Bonet.

I hate “toxic masculinity” and “respectability politics.”

I hate camps.

I hate that I can’t decide which camp I’m in.

I hate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s take.

Wait, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had a take?

I really hate that.

I hate OJ Simpson.

I hate Raven-Symoné.

I hate Jim Carrey.

I hate Sophia Bush.

Who on earth is Sophia Bush?

I don’t know, but I hate her.

I hate that everyone is a tough guy, or a psychologist, or a cop, or an apologist.

There’s only one celeb who gets me, and that’s Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter), who — much like me — hates all these celebs and their crappy takes too.

I once loved the openness of the Smith family.

Now I hate it.

I hate entanglements, both as a word and as a song.

I don’t hate August Alsina.

I hate that he came to the Smiths for help.

I hate that Jada took advantage of that situation.

I hate that we don’t talk about that.

I hate that Red Table Talk. The one where Will Smith cried.

I hate that everyone made fun of him for it.

I hate that we saw the other Will Smith because of it.

I hate that Jada didn’t get to stick up for herself.

I hate the way Will walked back to his seat.

I hate that people want to see another Black man arrested.

I hate that they might not be wrong.

I hate that this is all far from over.

I hate it all.

I hate that for us.

 

This article originally appeared on HuffPost, by Stephen A. Crockett Jr. and has been updated. (March 31, 2022, 6:36 PM)