She was not allowed to sit with the rest of her cast-including Olivia de Havilland, who was nominated for the same award for the same film as McDaniel-and was instead placed at a small table in the back of the room with just her escort and her agent. She was the first Black actor to be nominated for (let alone win) an Oscar, and she was only allowed into the ceremony, held at a strict whites-only hotel, as a special favor for producer David O.
If we’re going to talk about Oscar’s ugliest moment, it’s hard to think of many things uglier than the treatment of Hattie McDaniel when she won her Best Supporting Actress award for her role in Gone With the Wind in 1940. Presenting best picture soon after (also for The Godfather), Clint Eastwood quipped: “I don’t know if I should present this award on behalf of all the cowboys shot in all the John Ford westerns over the years.” When Littlefeather got backstage, she says, there were people making stereotypical Native American war cries at her and miming chopping with a tomahawk. And far too many people, including celebrities like Mark Hamill and Mia Farrow, have gone a giant step further and called it the Oscars’ ugliest moment ever. “Ugly” is the word many have chosen to describe the slap. Judd Apatow tweeted and deleted the ridiculous claim that Smith “could have killed” Rock with his open-handed slap. Kathy Griffin implied Smith might inspire legions of violent hecklers at comedy shows. Comparisons to Vladimir Putin and even 9/11 were made. In addition to rumors that Smith might lose his Oscar (and calls from at least one Academy member for that to happen), the internet is awash with tweets and thinkpieces opining that Smith’s actions irreparably tarnished the night and possibly the entire legacy of the Oscars. Yes, it was a huge moment, but the reactions have been out of control.
Following last night’s Oscars, all corners of the internet have been flooded with handwringing reactions to the biggest moment of the night, when Will Smith walked on stage and slapped Chris Rock after the presenter made a tasteless joke about Jada Pinkett’s Smith’s shaved head, essentially mocking her alopecia, about which she has been extremely open.