The Oscars have had their fare share of controversy. And they have been accused of exclusion, racism and bigotry. And for the most part, the Oscars has done its best to course correct. This years Oscars had all of the good stuff. From Beyonce dancing in yellow to support Venus and Serena, to Amy, Wanda and Regina hosting as a trio of powerful women to Elliot and Quest and CODA and more. This years Oscars showed up. Supporting its stars with all of the glitz and glamor that one would expect to see on the red carpet. There were those who supported the Ukraine in their speeches and those who stood up for the LGBTQ community. This years Oscars had everything. So what went wrong?
Comedian Chris Rock told a joke referencing Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith stood up for his wife by cursing and slapping Chris Rock across the face. But that was not the worst part of the live broadcast.
Social Media jumped in with opinion. Twitter commentary and Instagram thoughts, Stars and civilians swapped opinions, liked, laughed, booed and re-shared. And for at least twenty four hours, the Oscars, for all of the wrong reasons became the center of the news. One could argue it was a trainwreck break that everyone needed from the war in the Ukraine. But most of us were in shock and disgust. Fingers pointing in every direction. Social Media was the butane fluid to the flaming incident.
But what got lost were all of the heartwarming moments that happened before and after Will took a punch at a colleague in front of a live audience on television. The two day spectacle of social posts and replays and memes really shows how low our society has sunk.