New discourse has erupted on Twitter in response to the debacle at the 2022 Academy Awards, and this time The Batman‘s Zoë Kravitz is in the hot seat.
In the wake of the slap seen around the world, Kravitz joined a number of other big names — like Jim Carrey, Kathy Griffin, and James Corden — in condemning Will Smith’s actions. She shared her takeaway via a pair of Instagram posts, one displaying the dress she wore to the event itself, and one showcasing her fit for the after-party. In the caption to the first post, Kravitz presented “a picture of my dress at the award show where we are apparently assaulting people on stage now.”
The caption for Kravitz’s second dig at Smith was similarly structured, noting next to an image of herself in a stunning white dress that it was for “the party after the award show -where we are apparently screaming profanities and assaulting people on stage now.”
In the wake of Kravitz’s criticism, accusations of Kravitz’s supposed history as a “predator” began arising on the platform, as people dug through old interviews to find dirt on the 33-year-old actress.
Accusations of predatory behavior appear to stem exclusively from a 2013 V magazine interview. The interview took place following Kravitz’s involvement in After Earth, a film she acted in alongside Smith and his then 14-year-old son, Jaden. 24 at the time, Kravitz is quoted by Just Jared as having praised Jaden Smith’s maturity on set, noting that “There were moments that I was hanging out with Jaden and thinking, I can’t believe you’re 14, I have to check myself, like what I say to you.” She went on to say that the young Jaden was “so much cooler than I am” before calling him “handsome” and saying “I was always like ‘When you’re older, you know, we’ll hangout… Nope, that’s inappropriate, you’re 14.'”
It is the final quote from this interview, in particular, that is fueling people’s criticism of Kravitz online. They are pointing to the sidelong comment as proof that Kravitz is a predator, and thus has no right to comment on Smith’s behavior during the award show.
Tweets calling Kravitz out for the nearly decade-old interview quickly took over Twitter, pushing the actress’ name to trend in the early hours of March 30. Discourse around the issue is very much split, as people clash over whether the comments from Kravitz are enough to cancel her.
A number of people are rooting for Kravitz to face consequences, at least from the grand jury of the internet, for her 2013 comments.
Kravitz detractors are also pointing out that the 33-year-old actress remains friends with designer Alexander Wang, who has been accused on multiple occasions of sexual harassment and assault. Wang has denied the accusations against him, but many continue to believe that accusations of groping and harassment are true. Kravitz and Wang have been pictured together on several occasions — including in 2020 after several of the accusations had come to light — but it is unclear if the two remain close.
The other half of Twitter is very much in disagreement. They’re accusing naysayers of manufacturing drama, noting that Kravitz recently starred in The Batman alongside Robert Pattinson, and her reputation remained untarnished until hours ago. They want to know why, if people were so pressed about her Jaden Smith comments, they didn’t care a few months ago, when her name was trending for a different reason. This camp of people firmly believes the accusations are only being raised now because she criticized Smith, not because people actually care about her “predatory” behavior.
They also noted that Kravitz called her own comments “inappropriate” during the interview, pointing to this as evidence that she didn’t actually do anything wrong.
There is also a large portion of the internet that is simply watching the drama unfold with a certain sense of grim fascination. Pointing out the suddenness of Kravitz’s rise and fall in the eyes of the internet, they are simply staggered by the impossibly complex whims of the web.
The internet still seems thoroughly split on the fresh Kravitz drama. Many seem fully willing to cancel her over her criticism of Smith, paired with her comments about the youngest Smith son, but others are lining up to adamantly support her. Kravitz herself has yet to comment on the backlash her Instagram posts have prompted, leaving the world to breathlessly await the next step in this year’s unending Oscars drama.
