It is a repudiation of the incessant valorizing of taking a joke, having a sense of humor. “It is a defense of boundaries and being human and enforcing one’s limits. “This is a defense of thin skin,” Gay wrote. In her column, Gay compared Jada Pinkett Smith to Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, claiming both women shouldn’t be forced to endure insults and disrespect while under public scrutiny. New York Times contributor Roxane Gay has penned a column in defense of humorlessness in which she argues that black women like actress Jada Pinkett Smith shouldn’t have to tolerate jokes made at their expense like the one Chris Rock told at the Oscars on Sunday, which prompted Will Smith to charge the stage and smack the comedian in the face.
