Actor Will Smith won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Richard Williams in King Richard, the film about the rise of Venus and Serena Williams out of Compton, California. The announcement at the Academy Awards ceremony came moments after Smith took the stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife’s hair. Oscar hosts regularly cross the line with jokes about people sitting directly in front of them. I’m guessing they’ll take better care in the near future.
The bizarre acceptance of casual violence notwithstanding, it was cool to see tennis in the spotlight for a moment. But I’m sad for Venus and Serena because there always seems to be some ugliness tainting celebrations of their legendary careers. Some of that was self-inflicted for sure, but one thing we know of their lives and their father, they have been innocent bystanders to some crazy stuff. Will Smith stealing from his own moment and the moment of the Williams family at the Oscars; add it to the list.
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