“I think that any time we witness violence, we need to understand that from a place where we recognize the emotional and psychological state that’s driving this physical response to a trigger, and Will Smith was definitely triggered that night,” Ulen told PBS NewsHour in a recent interview.
“But I think in the broader context of American society, we need to understand what was happening there,” the professor continued.
Ulen then went on to claim that Smith — who has an estimated net worth of $350 million — attacked Rock due to 400 years of “black erasure” and “black silencing.”
“It’s really rooted and stepped in a 400-year commitment to black erasure, black marginalization, black silencing, and the stereotyping of black people,” the professor said
“All of that was present in a visceral, felt, and real way in the infamous slap,” she added.
Ulen was reacting to Smith marching onto the Oscars stage last weekend and striking Rock in the face after the comedian referred to his wife as “G.I. Jane.”
