I want to start by talking about the slap again. Not the moment itself, but how that moment really hyper-polarized a debate about women and what is right to do and black identity and hair and everything else. This moment that happened on live TV goes to the fact that we treat celebrity as a reflection of who we want to be and often who we should be. These aspirations, be they right or wrong, are unfortunate side effects of the constant exposure to the media personalities.
Media personalities are not expected to be real and flawed people. What flaws they are expected to have are seen largely as a snapshot or reflection of some larger societal issue. In reality they are treated like a living show even when not working. This has worsened over the years as social media and shows like the Kardashians let us into the homes of these people and reflect what sort of lives we should want to be living. Here is a neat trick: DONT WATCH. Yeah, It is harder than I suggest.
On a side note: we need to stop razzing comedians for telling jokes. The GI Jane joke wasn’t a particularly bad one. It did hit the hair (punching down) but the dress sorta sold the entire thing. Nobody wants to talk about that. Nobody especially wants to talk about Jada maybe not being a great person herself and perhaps even the kind of person who too punches down on her own show. Just saying.