Back in the day, not too long ago, Eddie Murphy could say what he wanted, Jerry Seinfeld could say what he wanted. Everybody could say whatever they wanted (for the most part) and people laughed or they didn't. Now, it's true, saying the wrong thing, even in jest, can get you fired, cancelled, or killed. Do you remember Seinfeld? He poked fun at EVERYBODY, including himself. It was funny!!
I read a lot of books written between 1920 and 1975. Today, those books would probably not be published without some serious editing. By today's standards, those books were extremely racist.
About Will Smith, there must have been something unsaid about that night. His actions were not only out of character, but came across as completely random. One second he was laughing at the joke. The next, he was furious. Some people say he was having an emotional breakdown because of the problems with his wife (ex-wife?).. I do think he should have been arrested though. If any one of us did what Smith did, we would have been.
The worst part of the incident was when he went up to receive an Oscar. People stood and gave him an ovation. Even if he deserved the Oscar, you would think the dark cloud of his violent act would cause people to rebuff his earlier behavior by staying seated and only clapping to be polite.