Will Smith’s Infamous Slap is Symbolic of a Mental Health Crisis Gone Off the Rails

Why the most viral moment of the year serves as a warning of what America culture could devolve into if the mental health epidemic continues to grow unchecked

When Will Smith smacked Chris Rock on live television, most Americans missed the underlying message: the slap itself wasn’t just an impulsive act of violence, it was symbolic of a society that has allowed a mental health crisis to go off the rails. Smith is a prime example of what happens when you let your mental health go untreated. Currently, studies show that less than half of Americans are receiving the proper mental healthcare they need.

The ongoing mental health crisis is a rot that is eating away at the core of American society. The United States cannot sustain itself forever when half of the adult population is utterly miserable. The slap was representative of a country in psychological decline. It was a harbinger for the inevitable collapse of a society which refuses to acknowledge its most basic human needs.

The mental health crisis isn’t just confined to America. According to the World Health Organization, global depression and anxiety is up 25 percent. In the United States, it’s not simply getting worse, it’s skyrocketing. Doctors and nurses might have seen their workload wane since the height of the pandemic, but mental health professionals are increasingly inundated with more patients. Studies show that 43 percent of psychologists are so overworked that they “have not been able to meet the demand for treatment from [their] patients,” another 46 percent feel “burned out,” and 68 percent have seen longer waitlists. Moreover, many doctors have stopped accepting new patients, and there is a massive shortage of mental health professionals meaning it could take months to schedule an appointment.

So what does this have to do with Will Smith? Just two months ago, he would’ve been seen as one of the most unlikely candidates to make a complete fool of himself in the manner he did. Heck, if Pew Research instructed one million Americans to rank the 30 most admired celebrities of the past 25 years, I guarantee he would’ve come up somewhere on the list — even if the survey was collected the day before the slapping incident.

Will Smith’s rise to fame was an unlikely one. Before he became one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood, he was a Grammy-winning rapper. He wasn’t just any rapper, though, he sold millions of albums without ever cursing, which is, of course, very uncommon in hip hop.

Smith was able to carry over this goody two shoes persona as he portrayed a fictionalized version of himself on the well-known sitcom, the Fresh Prince of Belair. The show was a hit, and his affable, charismatic personality turned him into one of the most beloved and bankable stars, consistently pulling in hundreds of millions per box office. For thirty years, he exhibited grace and candor, and truly captured most Americans’ hearts.

Last November, he published a memoir called “Will” which sold one million copies in a matter of months. He detailed his father physically abusing his mother, contemplating suicide as a teenager, and how he hit “rock bottom” when he landed himself in jail for tax evasion eight months after winning a Grammy. He achieved a true underdog tale that America is so obsessed with, and he was duly rewarded as several major producers fought to procure the rights to his memoir with hopes of turning it into a biopic.

Smith went from Grammy-winning rapper to blockbuster Hollywood star to best selling author to receiving 8 figure offers to make a film about his life. If this isn’t his peak, I’m not sure what is. If he tragically died on his way to the Academy Awards that night, his legacy would’ve been golden in the eyes of millions, but now, it’s tarnished to many of the very same people.

Instead, Smith finally receives the highest honor an actor can receive on the same night his whole career is completely tarnished for resorting to violence in a moment of weakness. In the aftermath, all the movies that he was working on have either stalled or cut ties with him; he received a 10 year ban from the Oscars; and he embarrassed himself in front of the whole country.

In a matter of minutes, virtually every person in the country suddenly has an altered opinion of him. He is no longer the lovable, affable family man. The façade has evaporated. His misery has become exposed to the whole world to see. The moment you found out Will Smith slapped Chris Rock will be remembered as a weird, but pivotal, event in American culture. Every person will forever remember exactly what they were doing the moment they heard about the most infamous slap in human history.

Days later, videos arose showing his wife bullying him; articles resurfaced about their alleged open marriage; thousands of writers posted on Reddit or Medium, claiming his wife is abusive; accusing her of toxic feminity; looking for any scapegoats to polish his image; and asking endless questions in order to understand his true mental state. For the record, I’m not here to argue with whether his relationship is toxic or not, but I can attest to one thing: Will Smith is clearly not getting the care that he needs. He might have access to the greatest psychologists money can buy, but he is no different than half of adult population not receiving the proper mental health care in this country.

The friendly, nice guy persona that Will Smith portrayed in the media has been heavily distorted for the average moviegoer. Similarly, certain virtues that United States used to exemplify, like unbridled optimism and American exceptionalism, have been muzzled.

It will require significant effort if this country ever stands a chance to reverse the trend of this growing crisis. Smith has since announced he is going to therapy. But will our elected officials allow America’s mental health crisis continue to go untreated to the point where the masses reach a point of collective psychosis, or worse violently begin to revolt? Will Smith’s infamous slap isn’t just a lesson about how a lifetime of decency can be destroyed in a matter of seconds, it’s also a warning of the consequences for those who don’t seek the help they need.