Chris Rock’s face was not the only thing to take a hit from Will Smith’s hand at the Oscars.
Smith’s popularity has also suffered in the aftermath of the 2022 Academy Awards, according to Q Scores published by the Variety Intelligence Platform. Q Scores are industry-standard quantifiers for celebrity star power and appeal.
READ MORE: Will Smith And Jada Pinkett Smith Spotted Publicly For The First Time Since The Oscars
The publication states that Smith regularly ranked among the top five or top 10 in the U.S. He hovered around other positively ranked celebrities like Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. In the aftermath of the Oscars, Smith’s positive Q Score dropped from 39 to 24.
A positive Q Score of 24 means that 24 per cent of those surveyed who know Smith counted him among their favourites. The semi-annual survey is conducted in January and July ever year. 1,800 U.S. consumers age six and up are polled. Smith’s negative Q Score increased drastically from 10 to 26. The average negative Q Score (identifying “fair” or “poor” opinions) is approximately 16.5.
“A very significant and precipitous decline,” is how Henry Schafer, executive VP of Q Scores, reacted to Smith’s updated score.
Jada Pinkett Smith, Will’s wife, also experienced a decline in her Q Scores. Pinkett Smith’s positive score fell from 13 to 6; meanwhile, her negative Q Score leapt from 29 to 44.
READ MORE: Willow Smith Addresses Dad Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock At The Oscars
Chris Rock was not impacted, figuratively, in a negative way. Rock’s positive and negative Q Scores remained at 20 and 14, respectively. A separate Q Score scale identifying public awareness of a celebrity saw Rock elevated from 66 to 84.
Schafer said Smith’s rankings shifts are “not as bad as I’ve seen for other celebrities who have experienced antisocial events,” noting Tiger Woods’ infidelity scandal in 2009.
