I'm guessing that if that had been the Rock telling that joke, instead of Chris Rock, Will Smith would have just continued laughing and shaking his head. But when someone who has made it this far in life without assaulting people does it all of a sudden at a mild, indirect joke on global tv--in an awards ceremony where most of the comedy these days involves insults of the actors at the ceremony--you have to look at the backstory. It's not only that his wife has been deeply hurt by this condition, but because she has had numerous affairs and made their relationship a laughingstock in a public forum with him there. Will Smith attacks Chris Rock for this joke when guys have been with his wife for years. Talk about taking something out on the wrong person. Now he returns the favor and heightens worldwide attention on his wife's condition, which would otherwise have been all but ignored. His reaction after the incident was because he knew he messed up and put his whole career on the brink. The only reason he could get away with this is that he is a very big fish in Hollywood and Chris Rock is a piker. And as for Chris Rock, he showed his toughness. We know that he was bullied as a kid, and it continues. It was a low blow on both sides. The restraint Chris Rock showed, though, was commendable because he could have said many worse things in response to that crack about keeping his wife's name out of his mouth.