MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Many were stunned after Academy Award winner Will Smith hit comedian Chris Rock following a joke about his wife.
Smith then continued to yell and curse before later apologizing to the audience when accepting his award. While many are left with different takes on the incident, it is also a reminder that conflict happens everywhere.
Jimmy Chambers runs Camp Chambers, a Memphis-based non-profit working to help children and their families.
“Those two individuals are human beings, and Will let his emotions get the best of him and he knew it,” Chambers said. “And it happens with the best of us, just like our kids today. They let their emotions get the best of them because they don’t understand how to deal with conflict.”
Chambers said what people saw play out on an intentional stage is something people in neighborhoods across the world deal with all the time and are tasked with handling, something he talks to families about.
“Why not think about it,” Chambers said. “Just take 10 steps backwards, talking about putting your hands on somebody. ‘I don’t wanna do that, that’s gonna get me in trouble. I got too much to lose, you’re not even worth it partner.’ You got to think like that, live to talk about it or work on it another day.”
Chambers also believes the incident can be a teachable moment.
“We gonna learn from this, you know the country’s going to learn from it,” he said.
Click here to learn more about Camp Chambers.
