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Is Toxic Positivity to Blame for Will Smith’s Slap Heard Round the World?
A counselor’s thoughts about what oversharing, overwhelm and pretending to be happy can create on stage
There’s been something different, something missing in his eyes. Whether it was on Jimmy Fallon or on his Nat-Geo episodic documentary, I’ve been picking up on a different vibe from Will Smith. His interactions and humor seem forced and lacking genuine joy. If you’ve ever witnessed someone whose spirit has been broken, his demeanor rings true to this comparison.
Each time I saw him I said, “There’s something going on with him.”
Listen, I analyze everything, all the time. I can’t help it. Whether in-person or while watching TV, I catalog observations that cultivate “ah-ha” moments down the road. Sunday night at the Oscars presented a resounding “ah-ha.”
It’s been hard not to smell the litany of dirty laundry being aired for consumption by Will Smith and his family prior to the “Slap heard round the world” at the Oscars 2022. It seems the family’s deep dive into social platform sharing may have run amok into overexposure and overwhelm that has thrown the family off the rails.