The Slap Heard Around the World

[Deleted]

Will Smith really slapped Chris Rock during the Oscars?!

I’ve seen the video and can still barely believe that actually happened.

[Opti]

I tuned out before then to watch cartoons.


www.avclub.com/chris-rock-not-pressing-charges-will-smith-oscars-slap-1848711828

In one of the most unbelievable moments in Oscars history, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage after the comedian made a G.I. Jane 2 joke that was in poor taste about Jada Pinkett Smith—who suffers from alopecia. Though Smith initially appeared to sarcastically laugh at the joke, he then stood up from his seat, hit Rock, and upon arriving back to his seat, told Rock, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth.”



Denzel Washington (who was also nominated for Best Actor) reportedly calmed Smith down during the commercial break, alongside Smith’s publicist Meredith O. Sullivan and Oscars producer Will Packer.



Things got even more awkward when, shortly after the slap, Smith won Best Actor for his role in King Richard, and used his speech to apologize to the Academy and his fellow nominees—but not Rock directly.

[Lizard Queen]

My DH showed me the story online last night, and I had a hard time believing it. I heard the audio on the radio this morning, and now I do believe it. That was a really shitty "joke".

[buystoys]

I don't watch the Oscars, but I heard about it this morning.

[steph08]

I can't figure it out. Will Smith is seen laughing at it first before going up to slap Chris Rock. But it obviously wasn't planned.

I get it, Jada has alopecia, but maybe Chris Rock didn't know that?

They've all been to hundreds of award shows, someone is always getting roasted for the way they look or who they date, etc.

Why was this joke any different?

[weltschmerz]

Chris Rock was an ass. He made a movie about black hair and how black women should be comfortable with whatever is on their heads. Then he mocks a black woman with alopecia?

[Opti]

Jada looked regal to me. I did not know about her condition or had forgotten.

[Deleted]

I was surprised by how Chris Rock kept his cool after Will hit him. I’m glad he did though, and didn’t hit him back.

Idk about Will and Jada. They’ve seemed weird to me ever since the “entanglement” thing.

[daisylu]

I did not watch the Oscars, but I heard about this on my way to work and had to look it up. Seems so out of character for WS, he has always seemed so calm and mild to me. Maybe he is trying to toughen up his image after these years? And IA that that relationship is weird.

[raeoflyte]

I don't think violence should be the first step in resolving conflict, but... I hate the idea that the wronged party always has to be the bigger person and let shit go. In the time it took to walk on stage ideally I guess he could have just taken the microphone and told him he's an ass. But I'm feeling OK about the slap too.

Not commenting or joking about people's bodies seems like a pretty low bar to set, although it's obviously out of reach for most.

[Tennesseer]

Mar 28, 2022 9:16:04 GMT -5 steph08 said:

I can't figure it out. Will Smith is seen laughing at it first before going up to slap Chris Rock. But it obviously wasn't planned.

I get it, Jada has alopecia, but maybe Chris Rock didn't know that?

They've all been to hundreds of award shows, someone is always getting roasted for the way they look or who they date, etc.

Why was this joke any different?

Chris Rock knew she had alopecia. I have known about it for at least the past year. And I don't follow Hollywood news. Simply sàw an article or two about it. It wàs a cheap shot at JPS's expense.

Would have been better had WS addressed it after the show. But I imagine WS was under a lot of self-induced stress waiting for best actor award to be announced.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I was reading about that.  I'm not going to say violence is the answer but between all the shit with their marriage in the media this was likely the straw that broke the camel's back.

Was it the best time to do so or the best way to handle it?  No, but it is so  out of character behavior. Something must be going on that made him snap.

I mean we can argue they live their lives in public and they've both chosen to put everything between them under the microscope but again celebrities are human just like the rest of us.    Only they punch each other at the Oscars instead of the local bar.

[Tiny]

I read the headlines. So I don't have much to go on.

My first thoughts when reading the headlines:
Great. More acceptance of violence as the answer to personal insults or affronts or disagreements.
(I expect even more gun violence now...)



I'm wondering about the slap...   was it a punch in the face?  or a slap in the face?   Do guys even slap other guys?      Was it staged? 

[Tennesseer]

Mar 28, 2022 11:11:29 GMT -5 Tiny said:

I read the headlines. So I don't have much to go on.

My first thoughts when reading the headlines:
Great. More acceptance of violence as the answer to personal insults or affronts or disagreements.
(I expect even more gun violence now...)



I'm wondering about the slap...   was it a punch in the face?  or a slap in the face?   Do guys even slap other guys?      Was it staged? 

I don't think so. Had Rock not said the Insulting joke, I don't think Smith would have been as emotional as he was in his acceptance speech.

[happyhoix]

Mar 28, 2022 11:25:14 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Mar 28, 2022 11:11:29 GMT -5 Tiny said:

I read the headlines. So I don't have much to go on.

My first thoughts when reading the headlines:
Great. More acceptance of violence as the answer to personal insults or affronts or disagreements.
(I expect even more gun violence now...)



I'm wondering about the slap...   was it a punch in the face?  or a slap in the face?   Do guys even slap other guys?      Was it staged? 

I don't think so. Had Rock not said the Insulting joke, I don't think Smith would have been as emotional as he was in his acceptance speech.

Smith seemed very wound up. I imagine the whole awards ceremony thing is extremely stressful - so I’m not going to judge him too hard for what he did, except say stupid off color jokes are par for the course in these kinds of things and it would have been better to stay in his seat and calm down a bit before talking to Rock.

Pretty sure Smith regrets it too.

[Lizard Queen]

Mar 28, 2022 11:11:29 GMT -5 Tiny said:

I read the headlines. So I don't have much to go on.

My first thoughts when reading the headlines:
Great. More acceptance of violence as the answer to personal insults or affronts or disagreements.
(I expect even more gun violence now...)



I'm wondering about the slap...   was it a punch in the face?  or a slap in the face?   Do guys even slap other guys?      Was it staged? 

I think it was a slap. I don't think it was staged, but who knows?

[imawino]

Honestly can't believe any reasonable people are finding a way to contort themselves into defending Will Smith here. His behavior was wrong in every possible way.   

[Opti]

Mar 28, 2022 12:32:46 GMT -5 imawino said:

Honestly can't believe any reasonable people are finding a way to contort themselves into defending Will Smith here. His behavior was wrong in every possible way.   

Agreed. I get being angry, but you use your words. Especially in public, especially at an awards show. We should not OK physical violence just because you are upset with what someone said. It also cheapened the Best Actor award. Would an actress get a pass for slapping a comedian in public on camera if they said something she didn't like about her spouse?

[Opti]

www.msn.com/en-us/movies/oscars/the-oscars-slap-divides-hollywood-and-raises-questions/ar-AAVAnDA?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=f51766ef0d4e43b7a764e5a8f7ea2d17


Smith was not deterred from celebrating his win on Sunday night, dancing at a crowded after-party while holding his trophy but avoiding questions about the incident.



Jaden Smith, one of Will and Jada’s children, tweeted simply: “And That’s How We Do It.”



But the reaction inside and outside Hollywood ranged widely. In interviews after the show, at after-parties and on social media, Smith’s colleagues variously expressed sadness, confusion, disbelief, anger and, in some cases, empathy. Many deflected or ignored questions about the episode entirely.



The actor Mark Hamill called it the ugliest Oscars moment. “Stand-up comics are very adept at handling hecklers,” he wrote on Twitter. “Violent physical assault… not so much. #UgliestOscarMoment_Ever.”



Others seemed to defend Smith. “Many takes on here about Will Smith and Chris Rock, especially from people whose partners are not Black women (mainly white people),” the author Frederick Joseph tweeted. “I don’t care if it’s a joke or not, the amount Black women have to endure — people are tired of it. We have no idea what Jada has gone through.”



The comedian Tiffany Haddish, who starred in the movie “Girls Trip” with Pinkett Smith, said in an interview with People Magazine at the after party that she appreciated seeing Smith protect his wife.

www.msn.com/en-us/movies/oscars/the-oscars-slap-divides-hollywood-and-raises-questions/ar-AAVAnDA?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=f51766ef0d4e43b7a764e5a8f7ea2d17


I find the bolded worrying. And I disagree with Tiffany Hadish. The joke already happened. He didn't defend his wife. He got angry and threatened a comic against future incidents.

[azucena]

Defend your wife, sure, but physical assault in wrong because she wasn't being physically harmed.

Jokes about illnesses are not funny and should be off limits.

[Opti]

Mar 28, 2022 13:15:49 GMT -5 azucena said:

Defend your wife, sure, but physical assault in wrong because she wasn't being physically harmed.

Jokes about illnesses are not funny and should be off limits.

It was a bad joke, but I noticed on The Talk before I turned it off, someone excused him by saying he was under lots of stress. 
Then that's going to OK all those people who assault retail workers simply because they were under stress.


So what should happen? Chris Rock removed from presenting at least a year? Will Smith banned from showing up at the next Oscars in person? 

[NastyWoman]

Two wrongs don't make one right. There should have been no slap and Rock crossed way over the line with his "comedy". You can't convince me that he did not know that Jada suffered from Alopecia. Hollywood is not that big...

This whole episode reminded me of an occasion several years (5 or so?) ago in my home town. A comedian during his shtick decided to go after a handicapped person in the audience, not quite as vile as Trump did during his first run, but too close for comfort. As soon as people caught on what was happening they left the theater en masse. Within minutes far less than half of the audience remained. The next day the guy was interviewed and asked about this so the idiot dug himself into a deeper hole by putting Hometown on his boycott list as they wouln't recognize comedy if it bit the in the butt. He was never going there again. Well, not only did the theater declared him as persona non grata but there were a number of other venues that did the same.

Now as a general thought out of all of this comes a question: when, if ever, do we as the public have a duty to act, to defend?

Maybe booing this so-called joke by the attendees would have been appropriate? Should WS and JS have left instead in protest? And if you think the answer is yes, why should they have to leave and not CR? Is there really no "bridge too far" (hey, this was the Oscars so a movie reference is appropriate)?

[Deleted]

It was an open hand slap. But it was hard. I don’t think it was staged. As a former classmate of mine who is an actor said, if it was staged, Will Smith wouldn’t have used profanity when he was yelling at Chris Rock after Will sat back in his seat. It was muted in the US, but not in other countries. The unedited video with the audio is all over the Internet. Will Smith yelled twice “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth”.

I don’t really keep up with Will and Jada, but I do read some things about them if I just happen to come across them. I think Will is going through some things. I did see the Red Table Talk about Jada’s “entanglement”, I would have been very embarrassed if I was Will. And the “bad marriage for life” thing at the end was weird too and made me wonder why they thought that was cute.

Then there’s the stuff he’s revealed recently about how he felt like a coward for not trying to defend his Mother against his father’s abuse. I’m no psychologist, but I imagine that’s a heavy burden to have been carrying since childhood. I think he talked about it in his book also. 

I’m not bringing any of that to try to excuse the slap, but I do agree with the prior poster that said that seemed out of character for him. Sometimes people do in fact do things when they’re going through things, that they wouldn’t normally do. It doesn’t justify it, I’m just saying it happens.

Chris Rock declined to press charges, which imo is graceful of him. I mean, there’s no way to deny it happened, if he wanted to make Will pay for slapping him. 

I didn’t listen to Will Smith’s acceptance speech, but I’ve read that there were tears and such. I’m inclined to think Will may have been using his Oscar worthy acting skills during that speech, because he knew he had messed up. Just a thought, maybe he was sincere. But apparently, in his apologies, he did NOT apologize to Chris Rock lol.

As far as Black women and their hair, it really is a kind of sensitive topic, especially now that more Black women are wearing their natural hair and it’s not always received in a positive or at least neutral manner. I know that for a fact, because I wear my natural hair now and because I read and hear the negativity and insults that other Black women who wear their natural hair have gotten. I didn’t watch Chris Rock’s “Good Hair”, so I have no idea of the content, but I ASSume Chris Rock is at least aware of the issues, since he made “Good Hair”. And regardless of race or ethnicity, many (most?) women are sensitive about their hair, especially the lack of, when it happens. It would be a cruel “joke” to tease any woman, of any race, suffering with hair loss about it. I don’t like being the butt of a joke, and I especially don’t like being embarrassed in public (and it doesn’t take much to embarrass me in public lol)….. I would not like it at all if I was publicly shamed, especially for something I have no control over, in the name of “comedy”. I would be even more embarrassed if Mister reacted like Will Smith did, even if he really did think he was doing it for me. But Jada is obviously not as easily embarrassed as I am, after all that entanglement business.

Just my thoughts and opinions. 

[andi9899]

[swamp]

Rocks comment wasn’t funny. I’m not going to call it a joke because picking on someone for having an autoimmune disease is off limits.

That doesn’t absolve smith of being as ass too.

There are plenty of people I’d like to slap. I’m a grown up, so I don’t.

I expected better from both.

[Opti]

Mar 28, 2022 14:16:54 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Two wrongs don't make one right. There should have been no slap and Rock crossed way over the line with his "comedy". You can't convince me that he did not know that Jada suffered from Alopecia. Hollywood is not that big...

This whole episode reminded me of an occasion several years (5 or so?) ago in my home town. A comedian during his shtick decided to go after a handicapped person in the audience, not quite as vile as Trump did during his first run, but too close for comfort. As soon as people caught on what was happening they left the theater en masse. Within minutes far less than half of the audience remained. The next day the guy was interviewed and asked about this so the idiot dug himself into a deeper hole by putting Hometown on his boycott list as they wouln't recognize comedy if it bit the in the butt. He was never going there again. Well, not only did the theater declared him as persona non grata but there were a number of other venues that did the same.

Now as a general thought out of all of this comes a question: when, if ever, do we as the public have a duty to act, to defend?

Maybe booing this so-called joke by the attendees would have been appropriate? Should WS and JS have left instead in protest? And if you think the answer is yes, why should they have to leave and not CR? Is there really no "bridge too far" (hey, this was the Oscars so a movie reference is appropriate)?

I'd be interested in knowing if what Chris Rock said was known to the Oscars team before broadcast.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Mar 28, 2022 12:32:46 GMT -5 imawino said:

Honestly can't believe any reasonable people are finding a way to contort themselves into defending Will Smith here. His behavior was wrong in every possible way.   

I don't defend his actions.  But that doesn't mean I can't understand them. 

If Christ Rock had decided to press charges well that's what Wil gets for making a rash decision.  He'll also have to deal with whatever bad publicity comes from it.

Understanding why someone may have done something doesn't mean you absolve them of their behavior or the consequences thereof.

And to answer the question about the wife I have come very close to punching my BIL in defense of my husband.  That's why I get it.  I almost punched him again recently but I recognize that tempers are running high given the stress we are under so I don't.  I'm not going to stop DH though if he chooses to punch him after the funeral.   You can only push people so far before they snap.

I imagine Rock's comment was the straw that broke the camel's back. 

[Lizard Queen]

I'm sorry, but this made me lol:

[TheOtherMe]

And the CU soccer team used the slap photo as a meme for the first practice after spring break.  I told them it wasn't funny.

[laterbloomer]

I watched the Oscars last night and not long before that happened I was thinking how much I was enjoying it. The co hosts were awesome, the clothes were great, there was a lot of diversity in presenters and winners...I'm sorry Jada felt shamed about her hair but it surprised me. I waan't taking the GI Jane comment as derogatory. GI Jane was a strong, kick ass woman, and attractive. And when Chris caught their reaction I thought he was saying he wasn't being mean, it looks nice. Will was laughing at it until he saw Jada's look. I think he hit Chris thinking that would compensate for his own laughing. So I see a situation where a bad joke was told and laughed at by men that did not know until that moment how bad it was. Neither behaved well, but Will was so out of line it eclipses Chris's bad joke.
Lady Gaga was the perfect co presenter for Liza Minelli, that was a special moment. The deaf guy winning and his acceptance speech was also very cool.
Will Smith getting a standing ovation and his crying and rambling about being all about love was foolish.