A Beautiful Twist of Will Smith Hugging Chris Rock.

"Jada, I love you" says Chris, "G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it!"

Jada rolls her eyes as the whole room fills with laughter.

"Whaaat??" adds Chris with a big smirk on his face. "That was a nice one!"

Will stands from his chair and is about to walk to the stage, Jada holds his hand.

"Will?" says Jada.

"What?!" says Will furiously.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going up there!"

"Why?!"

"I'm gonna teach him a lesson!"

"Will!" Jada raises her voice.

"I'm gonna smack him in the face!"

"Will! You are being a..."

"I am protecting my fami..."

"No Will! You want to hit someone!"

"He needs to..."

"You're not Richard Williams, Will! I won't stand for this!"

"But the guy just..."

"No! We had a deal Will, no buts between us."

"He disrespected you!"

"Don't speak for me Will."

"Fuck... I'm so triggered right now!"

"It's okay baby." Her voice softens. "Breathe."

Will takes a few deep breaths.

"What's going on Will? Tell me" she asks gently.

"I wanna kill him."

"That's very clear. Why do you want to do that?"

"Chris just made a joke about you!"

"Yes, and?"

"I don't like it!"

"So you want to smack him?"

"I told you I'm being protective!"

"You are being protective by being aggressive?"

"No! I just wanna... This clown needs to... Fuuuuck!"

"Hey, it's okay, keep breathing. What do you know about aggression Will?"

"It covers something else."

"What does it cover?"

"How I really feel about something..."

"And how do you truly feel baby?"

Will takes a deep breath and shuts his eyes. "Scared..."

"Yeah... What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid for you Jada."

"Okay, why are you afraid for me Will?"

"The joke was about your hair and you have... you know why..."

"Don't worry about me baby, I don't need a savior."

"But..."

"No buts Will. What's really going on love?"

"You're my wife!"

"I am not yours honey, we've been through this. We are partners. We walk together. We love each other, but we don't own each other."

"He disrespected you Jada."

"He made a joke about me. What going on with you?"

"I... I'm... It's just..."

"It's okay, say it."

"I'm frightened Jada... The whole world is watching, look at all these cameras. This guy just insulted you, I mean you're my wi... you're... my... you're the... ugh!"

Jada holds his hands. He calms down and his voice softens. "What is the world going to say about me sitting here and letting this happen?"

"You're afraid about what the world will think about you if you don't do anything?" asks Jada.

"Yeah..."

"And your way of handling this fear is to prove to the world that you are a manly man by going up there and hitting him?"

"What kind of man would I be if I let him speak to you like that?"

"What kind of man would you be if you let your impulses drive you? Are you going to walk around slapping everyone like an ape?"

"No..."

"It sounds like what you're describing."

"I know. Fuck... I don't want to be that man..."

"I know you don't."

"I don't know what kind of man to be right now Jada..."

"And it's okay Will. You don't need to know right now."

"I don't know how to handle this situation."

"Then you can practice being the man who trusts that this woman can take care of herself and doesn't need a savior."

Will stays silent for a moment.

"Can you do that?" asks Jada.

"Yes, I can." Will sighs. "How are you doing Jada?"

"I'm furious Will, I'm not gonna hide it. I didn't laugh."

"I know, I saw you."

"I'm pissed off, but I'm still sitting here Will, I'm not up there slapping him."

"How can you let him make a joke like th..."

"Because he doesn't know that I have alopecia!" Jada interrupts abruptely.

She sighs, and her tone turns gentle. "He can't relate to my pain of loosing my hair, and I don't expect him to."

"So you're not going to say anything to him?"

"I will. I'll give him a call tomorrow and make it clear that this was not okay for me, and ask him not to make jokes about me again."

"Why don't you say it now?"

"I can humiliate him right now if I want to, but I don't want to play his game Will. What do you think he's going to say? He's in the comedy business, not the human connection business. He would probably turn it on me by joking that I have no sense of humour." Jada looks at Chris who is still making jokes on the stage. "This poor man needs some love Will."

"How can you talk about love?"

"Because I feel sad for him Will. I have compassion for the man... Everything is a joke to him. Chris is always hiding behind humour. Look at him, how do you think he really feels behind his constant attempts to make people laugh?"

Will looks at Chris. "What do you see Jada?"

"I see a wounded man. A frightened man who got lost in comedy as a way to avoid real intimacy with other human beings. I don't think he would allow himself to feel the pain that his humour is causing. I'm afraid that no matter what I try to say, he would turn it into a joke before it even touches his heart."

Jada stays silent for a moment as she stares at Chris.

"What do you think would happen if you go up there and slap him in front of the whole world Will? Maybe he does need it, to wake up. But it's embarrassing, and I don't think he would ever allow himself to feel embarrassment in front of a crowd or cry like a real man. He would probably say something like "this is the greatest moment in the history of television" and people would praise him for how great of a comedian he is because he is able to keep his calm and stay in character. But that's just a mask baby, just a protection."

Will stays silent as he looks at Chris.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he looks up to you Will," adds Jada, "do you want to traumatize him?"

Tears well up in Will's eyes.

"There's nothing bad or wrong about smacking someone, it's not about feeling guilty," says Jada, "but there are certain consequences to how you choose to behave, and one of them is that I don't want to be with such a man..."

Will gently nods his head as he listens.

"And your heart is going to starve if you go around slapping people everytime they say something that you don't like. You know this Will. You're a loving man. There is a part in you, in all of us, that wishes to go around slapping everyone, and it's so easy to do that, but it's not who you really are. It's not the kind of man you are. That's why I chose to be with you, that's why I love you. I love the man that you want to become."

Will takes a deep breath.

"Every moment Will, every moment life gives us tests. Every moment, we can react, slap people, punch them, talk shit about them... And maybe there are some moments when it's necessary, but there other ways as well to handle life's tests. Sometimes love is necessary. This is your moment Will. You said it yourself, the whole world is watching, what will you do with it?"

"I want to show some love, Jada" says Will.

"I want to show some love too, Will" says Jada.

"How can I help you with that?" asks Will.

"Will you go up there with me?" replies Jada.

Will smiles. "Yes."

Will and Jada hold hands and stand together. They walk towards to stage.

"Oh oh!" says Chris as he sees them coming towards him.

Jada and Will walk up the stairs and go towards Chris.

Chris looks at them with eyes wide open. "Looks like Jada and Will have something to say abo..."

Jada squeezes Chris between her arms and gives him a strong hug.

"Okaaayyy" says Chris awkwardly.

Jada kisses Chris on the cheek and steps back. Will gives Chris a heart-warming hug and kisses him on the forehead.

"Umm..." says Chris, "is someone selling mdma at the doors?"

The room fills with laughter as Jada and Will walk back towards the stairs. Will stops when they reach the center of the stage. Jada looks at him and smiles as he stands there. She walks back down to her chair.

Will whispers to himself. "This ain't a movie Will, you don't need to pretend to be one of your characters. You can do this. Just let your heart speak man."

"Will?" says Chris.

Will takes a deep breath.

"Looks like Will Smith is in a hurry for his acceptance speech" adds Chris. "You need to win first Will!"

The room fills with laughter.

Will clears his throat. "I want to admit something to y'all." He turns towards Chris. "Chris, I was about to come up here and slap you in the face when you made that joke about Jada."

The laughter grows and becomes even louder.

"Please people, this is not a joke" says Will with a strong voice. "I didn't know how else to deal with the situation."

The laughter slowly fades into silence.

"It's so scary to admit. Will Smith doesn't know how to handle a situation... crazy, right? Part of me still wants to slap you man. What you said wasn't cool, it was painful. Behind the laughter and the joking, there is hurt Chris. Jada has alopecia. It means that she is losing her hair... And losing your hair does something to you Chris, it shakes you, it shakes your whole identity. It's a challenge. I know that you didn't know, but you didn.... and you didn't ask man... You saw something and just turned it into your next joke, your next punchline, and that hurts me brother."

Chris' face shows remorse and he looks down.

"I'm not trying to shame you or make you feel guilty, I just wish that you show some care... Some love man..." Will sighs. "You're incredible Chris. You're talented, funny, smart, and it's so inspiring to see how alive you always are. You radiate energy wherever you go, it's such a gift man. Why do you waste it on such childish has-been humour? Why do you use your talents to push people's buttons and bring them down? To get some laughs? You can be transforming people's lives with such gifts man."

Will looks around in the room for a moment.

"It frightens me to stand here in front of y'all and say this... Because I laughed too... I laughed until I saw Jada's face... And I realized that I was laughing out of pressure, because everyone else was doing it. Then I thought of how Jada might be feeling about it and the only thing I thought I could do to fix it was to come and attack you Chris, but Jada talked some sense into me. I learned that this would also be out of pressure, because everyone was looking at me. I would've been trying to make this about me, to prove how manly and protective of my wife I am. Will Smith don't take no shit from nobody, right? Another hero coming in to save his woman... I realize how arrogant this is, to think that a woman needs a man to protect her... And it breaks my heart to be this kind of man, I am not proud of myself."

Will looks at Jada, she winks at him.

His voice starts to shake. "Can you imagine a whole room of people laughing at you, about something that hurts you, something that touches you deep inside? That's a tough place to be." His eyes become watery. "I know that Jada doesn't need yours and anyone's sympathy, she has love and support, and the friends she needs, but I dream of an award ceremony where we could all be real with each other and help each other out." His tears turn into soft sobbing. "I dream of a community of actors who care about each other. Hey Jada, how are you doing? Hey Jada, let me know if I can do anything for you. Hey Jada, I don't care about your hair, you're still a beautiful person. Hey Will, how can we support you brother? I wish we could be empowering each other instead of throwing jokes at each other, making fun of each other, or fakely praising each other with these fancy awards and fancy trophies."

Jada's voice echoes in his mind: "What do you stand for Will?" He replies: "Integrity."

Will takes a deep breath and finds back his emotional balance. "I almost slapped a man on live television today. Part of me thought that this would be the right way to handle it, that this is what you deserve Chris. I learned something today, I thought I knew what it meant to be a man, but I don't know what it means! I want to find out... And being in this kind of environment isn't helping me. I dream of a brotherhood of actors, and right now it's far from it. I need to step back for some time. As frightening as it is to say this, I know it's the right decision for me. I am deciding to remove myself from the academy until I figure out what I want to do with my life. Thank you for your attention."

NEXT MORNING

"What was I thinking?!" Will thinks to himself.

He grabs the remote control and turns on the TV.

"Tonight on The Tonight Show: Is Will Smith seeking professional psychiatric help?"

He switches to another channel.

"... because there's only one question on everyone's minds now, what are the Smiths on?"

He sighs and turns off the TV. He grabs his phone, turns off airplane mode and googles his name.

'EXCLUSIVE VIDEO!! Watch Will Smith as he leaves the Oscars and a whole bunch of people confused.'

He slides down to the next headline.

'Could this be Will Smith's worst decision in his acting career?'

He slides down.

'Fans outraged as the Fresh Prince decides to take a break from Hollywood'

He starts to panic. "Was this a mistake?"

Tzz Tzz. His phone vibrates and a text message fills the screen.

Hey Will, I had my agent find your number, hope you don't mind. I really needed to reach you and thank you for what you said last night. It was really inspiring. Standing there and saying things that many of us don't dare to say. This takes courage man, and I appreciate that. I don't know what you're up to next, but it seems like you're on a quest, and this brotherhood that you mentioned, it can start now, count me in! Take care of yourself Will.

Stay real, Javier Bardem.

The phone vibrates again.

Hey Will! J. Carrey here. WhAt An AwAkEnInGGG! To be vulnerable is the STRONGEST of Strengths and the MANLIEST quality. Thank you BROTHER!

Tzz tzz. Another text pops up.

What a Man <3 Are sisters allowed in the brotherhood???

Queen Latifah.

Tzz tzz.

How can I be of support?

Love, Viggo M.

The phone vibrates over and over again. Will looks at it for a moment, then looks out the window, the sun shines on his garden. He smiles.