"Love will make you do crazy things"

"Love will make you do crazy things." This was Will Smith’s justification for his violent outburst during his Oscar acceptance speech. But words like these have been used to justify violence from the beginning of time. Many a domestic violence victim has heard similar words from a partner trying to justify their actions following an assault.

While Chris Rock’s joke may have been in poor taste, did it justify Will Smith’s explosive response? There have been lots of reactions since that incident, including an apology from Will Smith via Instagram to Chris and others for his behaviour, condemning the violence. But what can we learn from the body language on the night, and is it possible to read body language to help protect from an attack like the one now broadcast around the world and viewed millions of times?

Will and Jada’s initial reaction to the joke

Let’s start with the moment Chris Rock attempts a joke at Jada Pinkett Smith’s expense. Two things stand out:

Firstly, Will Smith initially laughs at the joke, but there is also a level of uneasiness apparent, which can be seen by the way his smile begins to drop away and his hands clasp together uneasily in his lap. It appears he is willing to roll with the joke, until he sees the reaction of his wife, Jada.

Secondly, from the beginning, Jada displays contempt and uneasiness at the attempted joke at her expense, related to the fact she has a shaved head due to a medical condition known as alopecia. Her body language begins with a pressed lips smile, which contains an element of disgust, with her upper lip raising slightly. We also observe eye blocking behaviour, where she closes her eyes longer than usual - a sure sign she is trying to block out the offensive remarks. Finally, she shifts uncomfortably in her seat as she clasps her hands together and presents a classic eye roll – a sign that communicates contempt, disagreement, or dislike.

Chris Rock clearly picks up on Jada’s discomfort, apparent through his follow up remarks before Will Smith approaches him on stage.

The Confrontation

So, what can we learn about Will Smith’s explosive interaction on stage with Chris Rock, and could Chris have done anything to predict and prepare himself for Will’s physical outburst?

The first point to note is that Will’s approach to Chris was very deliberate – he walked directly up to him, only slowing slightly a few paces before centring himself and delivering the blow. This was a deliberate act – while he may have been caught in his emotions, be approached Chris with a plan and intent to hit him.

The other thing to note is that his head was mostly facing down as he walked towards Chris, which may sometime indicate that someone lacks confidence in his actions, but in this instance, considering his deliberate and direct pace, was more likely an indicator that he intended to catch Chris by surprise, and is more reminiscent of a boxer hunched low to protect themselves looking for the opportunity to strike, which is also why there was only a fraction of a second between arriving right in front of Chris and delivering the blow. ?

The final point to note is Will Smith’s reaction as he walked back to his seat – smug satisfaction. As he turns to walk away there is a distinct smile on Will Smith’s face. He is very satisfied with what he has done. As he continues to walk you see a very slight chin thrust, indicating pride as he eventually gets control over and gradually supresses his smile. At that point he had delivered on what he had set out to do and was feeling very good about himself. Even later, when accepting his oscar award, while clearly upset he did not apologise for the act itself or to Chris, but rather the fact that it detracted from others who should be the focus of the evening.

Only later, with time to reflect did he seem to reconsider his actions, apologising to Chris and stating that ‘my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be.’ Perhaps he was also influenced by his son, Jaden Smith who tweeted ‘And That’s How We Do It’ following the incident, in support of his father’s actions.

This is a great reminder that actors and other influencers such as Will Smith remain a role model to not just their sons, but to thousands of people from around the world, and what celebrities like Will do, especially in difficult situations, influences the thoughts, actions and attitudes of impressionable people everywhere.

Audience reaction

As you can see from this snapshot of audience member’s reactions when the incident occurred, there are a mix of emotions. The main one is surprise, although there is also clear signs of distress, which can be seen in the elevated brows and instinctively raised hands to the face. There is also confusion and even bemusement, perhaps from those who thought the incident must be a setup. The emotions, however, are real and raw, and the kind of reactions that demonstrate that people were not comfortable with what was occurring.

Protecting yourself

But let’s now focus on what Chris Rock could have done to protect himself from this very public attack. To begin with, context is key. It is fair to say that what happened was not something that anyone expected, and that an act of violence in such a public manner is unusual but not impossible, so Chris would fairly have rated his surroundings as a low threat environment. Like many violent acts, however, things can escalate rapidly.

Unfortunately, we have no footage of Will Smith’s face as he approached Chris Rock on stage, as a key indicator of aggression are facial expressions of anger and disgust. When you see these emotions, you should always be on your guard.

What we do see, however, is Will Smith’s deliberate and direct approach towards Chris, which is a key indicator that Will was approaching for a reason, although this may well have been so that he could say something to Chris up close, as much as it could have been to assault him.

In such situation you must make a quick assessment of the situation, including asking the following questions:

• Who is this approaching me and what do I know about them and their character and past actions?
• What is the context – where are you and what has just occurred?
• What is the worst-case scenario?
• What are my options?

Now much of this may happen instinctively, but surprisingly, most people will work through the first two questions, but will rarely consider the second two until it is too late. For many people the natural reaction will be disbelief that something like this is happening and in such a state we often freeze, before either flight or fight responses can kick in. Now the freeze reaction allows you to assess the environment and keeping still may even help to deescalate a situation or make you less of a target as you may not be noticed.

In a situation like this, however, someone else is deliberately approaching you in an aggressive manner, a clear sign that something is about to occur. So, in this instance what could Chris Rock have done differently? The answer is to create space.

Create Space

Let’s be clear, no one has the right to invade your personal space. Once someone is within striking distance, anything could happen, and your options are limited. Unfortunately, many of us are just way too polite or scared of a negative reaction or how we might be perceived when someone approaches us in a threatening manner. We hope that things will be ok, but we allow others to take the upper hand and dictate the outcome when we let them approach unchallenged.

So, how do you stop someone getting too close? Raising your hand, with your fingers spread out and saying ‘stop right there’ in a commanding voice is a great way to start. At the very least, having both your arms raised in a protective manner in front of you can also be effective to create some distance and make your would-be attacker rethink his chances of success as they have potentially lost their element of surprise. Watching Chris Rock, you will notice that he maintained his confident position with both hand behind his back when approached by Will – leaving himself wide open to an attack from the front. After he was struck you may have noticed he took a defensive step backwards, but it was all too late as Will was already walking back to his seat.

We could go much further into the psychology of preventing an attack and other key indicators and defensive techniques, but if you remember nothing else – think ahead and create space. If an incident like this can happen in a public forum at the Oscars, then it can and does happen everywhere. How prepared are you?