Will Smith decks Chris Rock at the Academy Awards

[Psab keel]

A very good documentary named "Good Hair", made several years ago, was discussing the propensity/culture of the black women, who at a very early age are trying to straighten their hair and, in the process, are damaging it so much over the years that they have to wear wigs for the rest of their life.
Name of the person who produced/helmed this documentary?...Chris Rock!!

I saw that documentary. Very informative and entertaining. It didn't hurt that the women were stunning too.

 

[CB2001]

Hey, I've got another theory as to why Will smacked Chris. He was checking for the Tick.

Sorry, lame joke, but come on...

 

[robn1]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1508996272220426243

 

[HeartBlade]

Didn’t Will also admit to GQ that he too, indulged during that “open” marriage?

To be honest Ive only heard about the highlights which focused on Jada. Could be media bias.

Either way, it was a dick move for Will to slap Chris Rock. Reading more about Will and Jada’s marriage, the relationship itself sounds pretty toxic and they are probably better off split. Their kids are in their 20s now so no longer need to “stay for the kids.” Divorce also isnt exactly rare in Hollywood.

 

[batguy]

Reverse their positions:

I doubt any amount of relationship stress would have driven Chris to charge up onstage and slap Will. I cannot picture Chris reacting so violently to a joke like that.

The slap didn't happen because of the joke alone, or the joke + marriage stress. Will Smith's personality/judgment/etc was also part of it.

 

[bwayne64]

I think the show was in cardiac arrest, and Will's stunt was a defibrillator. I was so hoping this would be the last year. I get sick of hearing about it. It's always just one yahoo after another lecturing us on how privileged WE are ! At least we got a perfect example of who has the real privilege. As many times as I have wanted to smack the dog mess out of someone. But always fear the popo, and the good Lord. This guy doesn't even get his suit wrinkled. What a world !

 

[jkno]

 

[Solo4114]

My view of this incident is that it's essentially a Rorschach test for everyone. I've seen a ton of different takes on it at this point, including:

- Smith was in the right because people who've been bullied totally get why he'd finally lose his cool and snap.
- Smith is probably an abusive husband and father, because people who supposedly act to "defend the honor" of someone close to them are just as likely to beat them, too, simply because they're violent.
- Smith was in the wrong because "violence is never the answer."
- Smith was in the wrong and this is just like cancel culture and comedians everywhere have to be afraid now.
- Smith may have been in the wrong, but his response is understandable because Rock did something truly egregious with his "joke," and a lot of this ties into the culture surrounding hair.

And so on and so forth.

I don't think there's any great lesson to be learned from this except that people will bring to an incident their own ingrained perspectives and points of view and filter what they see through those.

 

[Funky]

I was so hoping this would be the last year. I get sick of hearing about it.

I love the Oscars. I watch it every year.
I understand if others don't. The solution is simple: Don't watch the show or engage in conversations regarding the show. I don't understand the people that say they hate the Oscars though they feel compelled to engage in conversations about the Oscars. Why not simply ignore anything associated with them?

 

[Solo4114]

I love the Oscars. I watch it every year.
I understand if others don't. The solution is simple: Don't watch the show or engage in conversations regarding the show. I don't understand the people that say they hate the Oscars though they feel compelled to engage in conversations about the Oscars. Why not simply ignore anything associated with them.

To be fair, this incident is....kiiiiinda hard to ignore.

 

[bwayne64]

I love the Oscars. I watch it every year.
I understand if others don't. The solution is simple: Don't watch the show or engage in conversations regarding the show. I don't understand the people that say they hate the Oscars though they feel compelled to engage in conversations about the Oscars. Why not simply ignore anything associated with them?

It's still a free country, at least for now. I'll watch what I like or not. I'll engage where I will or not. What is your deal ?

P.S. The thread was about the Will Smith incident , as was most of my comment. So you're the guy that still watches the Oscars, ; )

 

[JoeG]

LOL. Triggered.

 

[Psab keel]

The purpose of a discussion thread is to exchange ideas about a topic and as pathetic as it is, this incident is headline news. It's easy to dismiss people for disliking something that you enjoy or to ask why they bother engaging, but ignores the purpose of intellectual discourse which seems to me is a means of coming to terms with a concept or event.

 

[drftfan]

And Will being an a55hole was still on display… 30 plus years I have watched this man be an actor and in 15 seconds he has reduced himself to a complete mockery. Jim Carrey is right… he should sue him.

Will Smith Refused to Leave When Academy Asked Him to Leave Oscars

The Academy now claims they actually asked Will to beat it, but he apparently told them to kick rocks.

www.tmz.com

 

[dascoyne]

Will didn't get escorted from the event.
Will got to receive and keep his Academy Award even though Richard Williams and his daughters said his behavior was an embarrassment for them.
Will got to deliver an uninterrupted 6 minute speech where he apologized to everyone except Chris Rock.
Will, in his speech, even had the huevos to act magnanimous despite being the only one implementing violence the entire evening.
In the party afterward Will was dancing and certainly having a good time.
Nobody is going to file charges against Will.

When you are a member of the Hollywood elite, (like Alec or Harvey), you can pretty much get away with almost anything all the time.

I used to like Will. I don't have one atom of respect for him anymore.

 

[Ron]

Will didn't get escorted from the event.
Will got to receive and keep his Academy Award even though Richard Williams and his daughters said his behavior was an embarrassment for them.
Will got to deliver an uninterrupted 6 minute speech where he apologized to everyone except Chris Rock.
Will, in his speech, got to be a magnanimous victim and call himself a "vessel of love" even though he was the only one implementing violence.
In the party afterward Will was dancing and certainly having a good time.
Nobody is going to file charges against Will.

When you are a member of the Hollywood elite, (like Alec or Harvey), you can pretty much get away with almost anything all the time.

I used to like Will. I don't have one atom of respect for him anymore.

And to top it off, he got a standing ovation. Hollywood depravity in a nutshell.

 

[batguy]

Will didn't get escorted from the event.
Will got to receive and keep his Academy Award even though Richard Williams and his daughters said his behavior was an embarrassment for them.
Will got to deliver an uninterrupted 6 minute speech where he apologized to everyone except Chris Rock.
Will, in his speech, got to be a magnanimous victim and call himself a "vessel of love" even though he was the only one implementing violence.
In the party afterward Will was dancing and certainly having a good time.
Nobody is going to file charges against Will.

When you are a member of the Hollywood elite, (like Alec or Harvey), you can pretty much get away with almost anything all the time.

I used to like Will. I don't have one atom of respect for him anymore.

And to top it off, he got a standing ovation. Hollywood depravity in a nutshell.

After the slap happened, I doubt there was an announcement on the PA system like, "Ladies & gentlemen, that was not a staged event and there are no extenuating circumstances or public or private feuds to explain Will's actions."

It probably took some time for everyone to understand & decide how they were feeling about it. They weren't looking at instant replays to hear Chris's joke again & examine it. They weren't re-watching footage of Will's reaction to the joke, or Jada's, or the slap. The exchange ended in Will yelling at Chris without a microphone. Everyone heard the last things Will said, but the audience couldn't have been sure they heard everything that was said between them. Etc.

Look at Chris Rock himself. He should've had the quickest & clearest reaction out of anyone there. But 10, 20, 30 seconds after it happened he was still processing it. Even Chris was so surprised that it diluted some of his natural anger response. The whole thing was out-of-character for Will and totally out-of-character for the event.


Standing ovations, clapping . . . There is a strong herd mentality to that. And the whole event is so performative. Doing the wrong thing in a public setting can easily wreck a celeb's career (see also: Smith, Will). This stuff is not a justification to ignore a violent attack per se. But it's an incentive to keep your mouth shut and not rock the boat until you know all the facts.

 

[dascoyne]

Will articulated every syllable slowly, clearly and loudly. On top of that, Will had the camera on him and he was on the big screen when he said it. And, in case nobody heard it the first time, Will repeated himself. I'm certain everybody in that theater knew what Will was shouting.

Still, I agree that the vast majority of people in the audience aren't in a position to say or do anything about it. I know if I was there I'd have no reason to make it my business . But the Academy does, and they asked him to leave but, like Baldwin playing on his iPad on a plane, he simply refused to leave.

It wasn't entirely out of character for Will. He's slapped folks in public before. Chris wasn't reeling in confusion about what happened. He was just trying to improvise a comeback to save the evening. Chris knows better than to react in anger so I really doubt that was on the table.

 

[Psab keel]

The question anyone has yet to ask. Was Will just mad because the joke was out of date? G. I. Jane 2? C'mon. That movie is like 25 years old. Get some new material Chris!

 

[batguy]

Will articulated every syllable slowly, clearly and loudly. On top of that, Will had the camera on him and he was on the big screen when he said it. And, in case nobody heard it the first time, Will repeated himself. I'm certain everybody in that theater knew what Will was shouting.

They saw/heard Will's final round of shouting pretty clearly. But the attention wasn't really on Will (or Jada) until Will charged up the stage. There was room for something else to be said.

I'm saying that as a random person in the audience, even if you DID hear everything that Will & Chris said, you might not have been sure you did at the time.

Still, I agree that the vast majority of people in the audience aren't in a position to say or do anything about it. I know if I was there I'd have no reason to make it my business . But the Academy does, and they asked him to leave but, like Baldwin playing on his iPad on a plane, he simply refused to leave.

It wasn't entirely out of character for Will. He's slapped folks in public before. Chris wasn't reeling in confusion about what happened. He was just trying to improvise a comeback to save the evening. Chris knows better than to react in anger so I really doubt that was on the table.

I think Chris started off in total shock. Then his anger at Will kicked in. Then his stand-up performing experience kicked in. Chris realized he needed to be the one to back off or else the confrontation would continue.

Comedians aren't used to getting assaulted, but they are used to dealing with jerks in the audience trying to provoke them or derail their act. The pros are all good at keeping their cool no matter what gets yelled at them.