The Smith - Rock debacle at the Oscars

[ILLYRIAN]

Plenty has been said about Smith's slap, yet nothing has been stated what Chris Rock said. Why not?
Is what Smith did so bad?
What do you know of it all?

 

[famicommander]

If Chris did in fact know that Jada lost her hair and was sensitive about it, it was in poor taste to make the joke.

If he didn't know about her hair loss and was literally just making a joke about GI Jane, then of course he did nothing wrong.

But whether Rock knew or he didn't know, no, it was not acceptable for an audience member to walk up onto stage and slap a performer for a (potentially) poor taste joke. You're a grown ass adult, act like one.

 

[Stake fodder]

Plenty has been said about Smith's slap, yet nothing has been stated what Chris Rock said. Why not?
Is what Smith did so bad?
What do you know of it all?

This shows why the correct response to a rude, public comment like that is to have no response. If Will Smith had left it alone, people might be talking today about Chris Rock being tasteless (assuming he knew Jada Pinkett Smith has alopecia), or more likely it would have just been forgotten. Instead, everyone is talking about Will Smith's behavior, and Chris Rock, who started it, is the victim. And more attention is drawn to JPS, who probably does not want this spotlight on a personal issue.

ETA: I just watched Smith's speech on the "Random" thread - thanks for posting, @HowiMetdaSlayer. I think he gave a good speech, which went a ways toward atoning for his action, but he should also have apologized to Chris Rock, no matter what Rock said.

 

[The Bronze]

Will Smith started his television career making bald jokes. So he's shown himself to be a violent hypocrite. A cowardly bully as well because Chris Rock is all of 5ft tall. I bet he doesn't react like that if it was The Rock making the joke.

I can't believe how many people have been making excuses for his behaviour. Long past expecting celebrities to be good people but this was very sad. We've all grown up enjoying Smith's work and he did seem decent off screen.

 

[Mr. Pointy]

It seems Will Smooth has now apologised publicly to Chris Rock - Will Smith apologises to Chris Rock over Oscars slap - It's a shame that his behaviour spoilt what should have been the best night of their careers for the other Oscar winners.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

The way I saw it was that Will Smith was standing up to the 'insult' made against his wife's 'disability'. Would the members of this site stand up to support their significant partner if someone made a negative comment against them?
The slap itself was probably a bit much, an on stage lecture by Smith could have been a lot better.

 

[famicommander]

The way I saw it was that Will Smith was standing up to the 'insult' made against his wife's 'disability'. Would the members of this site stand up to support their significant partner if someone made a negative comment against them?
The slap itself was probably a bit much, an on stage lecture by Smith could have been a lot better.

Losing your hair isn't a disability. She's literally got pattern baldness, and we don't even know for sure whether Chris knew that when he made the joke.

And no, it's not okay to hit people for making fun of your significant other. Chris made a bad joke and if he knew going in, then the blowback from it would've all been on him. Instead Will reacted like a toxic manbaby and assaulted a much smaller, older man over a joke during a globally televised formal event.

This idea that women are so fragile that they need us guys to pummel each other over a little name calling is ridiculous.

Now, if someone physically assaulted my significant other? We're throwing hands and one or both of us are headed to jail and/or the hospital. But words? You're a grown adult. Get over it.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

The joke was not great even if she didn't have alopecia. Although Jada in a GI Jane 2 would be a good movie, I think she could do it. But seriously, whether or not the joke was disrespectful or in poor taste, regardless of Rock knowing or not knowing about her condition, there is no excuse to resolving it with violence. Smith should have not gone on stage, he should not have slapped Rock, or said what he said. It's disrespectful to the academy and makes the Oscars look bad. But most importantly violence is never the answer.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

It looked like Will Smith liked the joke until he got THE LOOK from his wife. Then he had to do something to make up for the fact that she caught him laughing. He chose the wrong way to settle the problem.

 

[Stake fodder]

Losing your hair isn't a disability. She's literally got pattern baldness, and we don't even know for sure whether Chris knew that when he made the joke.

If Rock did know it, it's surprising that he of all people would make fun of it. He himself made a documentary in 2009, Good Hair, about how Black women feel they can't wear their hair naturally. He made it after his young daughter complained, "Daddy, how come I don't have good hair?" If he's wondering where that societal pressure comes from, he should look in the mirror.

 

[DarkLordsHaunt]

Well the memes that are coming from this are absolutely incredible.


I'm neutral for the most part. Assuming that everyone who keeps saying it's fake is wrong and it really was completely real.. then I think no one was completely in the right or wrong.


Chris Rock wasn't doing anything super out of character or unexpected. But obviously you're gonna hurt some feelings when you make personal comments like that about someone's appearance.

Will Smith was apparently laughing along too until he saw Jada was upset, and that's when he took action. It was pretty nuts to do what he did, honestly. I mean, really? Right there? He couldn't have waited? And then cursing too?

Jada...... Jada has not been good to Will. That man deserves better. Jada deserved to be defended, like anyone would, but not to that extent. She doesn't deserve that much. Lol.

 

[xxstaindrosesxx]

I don't condone what Will Smith did. However, events aside, I actually feel bad for everyone else in attendance and for those who won awards.

Imagine this one night you've looked forward to for months, and now all these award winners are having their moment of recognition overshadowed by one man's poor choice. In fact, he has even overshadowed his own win. While obviously nothing can take those awards from the winners, this whole ordeal is the main thing everyone is talking about. Even interviewers were asking people in attendance how they felt about it, when the whole point is to honor movies and those involved.

And Will also made it worse when he gave his speech, talking about how you have to protect your family and twisting Richard Williams into it. If anything, it kind of shadowed Venus and Serena and their father being honored too. Like that should have been a wonderful, celebratory moment for them, and again, it's overshadowed by this guy who portrayed their father and his crappy actions.

I will say I laughed at some of the jokes on twitter though, as someone said "Things you don't talk about: 1.) Bruno 2.) Jada"

 

[thetopher]

Jada has been open about her alopecia and she's even stated that 'the only thing you can do is laugh about it' which is a fairly mature way with dealing with an unfortunate condition; to make light of it.
Unfortunately Will Smith doesn't share this opinion (or maybe Jada got angry at him for laughing at the joke and so he over-compensated) and so he responded in a massively toxic way.

I respect Chris Rock for handling the whole thing in a professional way; sure, the joke wasn't really that good but the guy kept his cool and laughed off getting assaulted in front of millions. He is 6 thousands times the man Will Smith is.
This is especially true if you consider the absolute state of the Will/Jada marriage and what has been made openly public by both of them. I honestly find myself feeling a little sorry for Will; his Oscars acceptance speech revealed a man who seems very much broken and humiliated by his marriage situation. That certainly doesn't excuse what he did to Rock, but it does explain it- a misguided attempt to hold on to a shred of self-respect dressed up as defending his wife's honor; which is bunk.

The memes though, the memes have been gold. And hey, people are talking about the Oscars again, that hasn't happened in a while.

 

[famicommander]

It can be funny and wrong at the same time.

For example, if someone walked up, unprovoked, and punted Justin Bieber in the testicles I would likely laugh my ass off. But it would still be wrong to actually do it, and if it happened I'd advocate for the perpetrator to be punished.

Same thing here. Objectively, two millionaires getting into a sissy slap fight on television is hilarious. But physical assault is still wrong.

And it seems to be coming out that Rock didn't know that she had pattern baldness and was literally just making an off-the cuff joke about a bad movie from the 90s. So that makes Will look even worse.

 

[englishghosts]

Do I think Will Smith is right for hitting Chris Rock? No.
Was it an understandable reaction? Yes.
I don't know if it's a cultural thing, I'm not American, but I think it's 2022 and it's way past time people stop making jokes about other people's appearances. It's not even funny, and you never know who you might hurt. And especially making a joke about a woman's appearance, especially a black woman, and in one of the biggest events in the world. People are talking so much about the violence Chris Rock suffered, but what about Jada, who was clearly upset, he should apologize too.

 

[thetopher]

Some of the jokes you can find online though:

- #OscarsTooBlack

- 'Probably the first time Hollywood has ever cared about Black-on-Black violence.'

- 'We've just seen the debut of the simp-slap.'

- 'All of Jada's lovers approve of Will Smith defending her honor.'

People are talking so much about the violence Chris Rock suffered, but what about Jada, who was clearly upset, he should apologize too.

Words are not violence. And a lame joke that wouldn't be out of place at a comedy roast is nothing compared to actual assault.

Also, the more I find out about Jada, the more I feel sorry for Will.

 

[englishghosts]

Words are not violence. And a lame joke that wouldn't be out of place at a comedy roast is nothing compared to actual assault.

I don't mean to argue, obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but although that's not what I meant (I just said she was upset) I'd just like to point out that words can very much be violence. I'm not saying it was the case, because we obviously don't know Jada enough to know how it felt for her, but words can and do have deep psychological effects, sometimes much more than a slap. What is only a joke for someone, can cause a number of negative and harmful feelings on someone else.

As for the joke being appropriate in other contexts, I guess that's exactly the point, the context. If someone goes to a comedy roast, they expect to be insulted / have others be insulted. At the Oscars, you expect to be made fun of, yes, but especially someone who has made a film about black women's relationship with their hair should know better than to joke about that. There were so many other harmless jokes he could have made. I believe it's not a funny joke if it offends someone. Maybe it doesn't compare on the level of violence, and I and I really don't know what you found out about her, but I still think Chris Rock should apologize. It's the kind of joke that doesn't affect only her, it might also affect other women suffering from any number of issues that might cause them to lose their hair.

Again, I don't condone Will Smith's reaction, I don't think he should have done it. Violence is not the answer. But IMO the two men were wrong (not on the same level) and the two men should apologize.

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

What really happened:

 

[Cohen]

Here's the thing...

It really wasn't that derogatory of a joke, especially as Demi was praised for her portrayal in GI Jane. Honestly, I feel like Jada should be honored that anyone would think she could pull of such a role, because not only would it honor women in the military, but more specifically women of color in the military--who are not often given accolades for their commitment and service to their country. And in reality, she eyerolled it off and moved on. There was no need for escalation.

While comedy based on looks is very passé, even more so is violent reactions to trivial matters. First of all, why is it that anyone was allowed to leave their seat during an awards show, unless being directed to or accepting an award? Second of all, why is it that we live in a society in which the first instinct is to slap back at trivial words. People have said very derogatory things to me over the past decade and a half since, and before, I came out. Not once did I ever think "you know what will solve this? A bitch slap". I have always led a "kill them with kindness" mantra, where I take the "higher road," not because they deserve it, but because I don't deserve to have to stoop to a lower level because someone has crossed a verbal line. And often times, its the reactors who get into the most trouble. When you escalate situations, you are to blame for that escalation, and it muddies your reasoning.

As other people pointed out, Will was originally laughing. Now, what is interesting is that, they have the cut where he is laughing and Jada gives an eye roll, and then it cuts and STAYs on Chris. I do not see any footage of him getting up from the table. I think that footage would be vital in being able to really judge and assess the situation, and Will's intention. There was a cameraman pointed directly on him, so that footage is there. It took 7 seconds from the shot of Will smiling to the shot of him walking up to Chris. Will knows he is being filmed this entire time. He knows his intention walking up to Chris is to assault him in some way. Otherwise, why would he not just heckle from the audience? To top that off, there are hundreds of people in this room. Why did not one person prevent Will from leaving his seat and marching up to assault someone on live TV?

The simple answer: ratings. Producers love drama and they especially love viral drama. They are calculating that whatever happens will give publicity to a televised event that last year hit record lows. So, as is in Hollywood, any publicity is good publicity. They allow this to happen.

But why? Why as a society are we still allowing this to happen? Why is it more important to show someone reacting in their lowest way than try to show compassion and understanding. I would rather see an example of someone trying to diffuse the situation, to showcase how we can calm down in moments of temporary anger in reaction to upsetting situations. It would be a positive example for everyone. But instead, yet again, we are showcasing violence to solve our problems and "owning" our mistakes (because of backlash, not because of remorse).

Though, in a society where we are more concerned with viral likes than we are with treating humans with compassion--where dictators are allowed to invade neighboring countries with little to no response from "free" countries for fear of retaliation--I guess I can't expect too much.

 

[thetopher]

I'd just like to point out that words can very much be violence.

No, words can be harmful but are not, in any way violent. This is the kind of thinking that leads to people saying they feel 'unsafe' because of another persons opinion. It's pretty much nonsense; if somebody says something that you don't like you are not physically injured by it.

Also offense can only be taken, never given; its the recipients choice on how they react.

Will could've called out Chris Rock, criticize him in his acceptance speech later, had a stern word with him backstage, rolled his eyes and let it go or whatever.

As for the joke being appropriate in other contexts, I guess that's exactly the point, the context. If someone goes to a comedy roast, they expect to be insulted / have others be insulted. At the Oscars, you expect to be made fun of, yes, but especially someone who has made a film about black women's relationship with their hair should know better than to joke about that. There were so many other harmless jokes he could have made.

Awards shows are absolutely places where a celeb might expect to be poked fun at; in fact more there than any other place. This is the age of Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes, it is the age where awards presenters are there to entertain and poke fun at the audience because it shows a side of actors that the viewer at home rarely gets to see. I always figured that was part of the appeal.

And 'a black woman's relationship with her hair' has nothing to do with it; alopecia affects plenty of all skin colors and Jada has (apparently) been open about being okay about it and having a laugh about it.

But Will Smith's reaction wasn't authentic, it was poser-ish in the extreme.

I believe it's not a funny joke if it offends someone.

I believe that a joke is funny if people laugh. And Will Smith laughed along with lots of other people.