# So Will Smith punched Chris Rock at the Oscars last night **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes, talk-variety-show\ **Created:** [March 28, 2022, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826 "2022-03-28T08:32:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/261 "2022-03-29T14:55:03Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > If the Smiths weren’t wound so tight And I thought Morrissey was the sensitive one… ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/262 "2022-03-29T15:08:45Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > I’m just about tired of all the, “Ohmygod, she has an autoimmune disorder!!” Yeah, she has an autoimmune disorder. She has the Bud Lite of autoimmune disorders. The near-beer of autoimmune disorders. I don’t have it, but from what I’ve read, its only known effect (thankfully) is to make hair fall out. Which, admittedly, kinda sucks, but doesn’t justify punching people because they conversationally bumped up against your sore spot. I’ve mentioned this but I’ll mention this again, what a f’ing snowflake family. If Jada were bald from chemo for her cancer then he deserves to be punched. If she were on a ventilator dying and he makes a joke about her not being able to get speaking parts anymore, he deserves to be punched. If she lost a leg and he jokes about she can only get 5s on Dances With the Stars, he deserves to be punched. It’s alopecia for God’s sake! ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/263 "2022-03-29T15:33:49Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > he deserves to be punched No, he doesn’t. Not for any of the offenses in your post. These aren’t 9-year-olds in a playground, for fuck’s sake. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/264 "2022-03-29T15:34:44Z")
> [@chela](#): > > People with alopecia areata have it rough from the get go losing all their body hair. No that’s universalis. Areata is just patchy, sometimes resolves (especially in kids) and occasionally progress to totalis (all of scalp) or universalis (complete body). ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/265 "2022-03-29T15:41:51Z")
> [@chela](#): > > I haven’t read it either way but hadJada said it’s autoimmune related ? Traction is easy to fix by stopping the practice that leads to the traction. Usually not scarring. But unclear as she’s said something about noticing hair falling out and that does not happen with autoimmune alopecia. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/266 "2022-03-29T15:53:08Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > And I thought Morrissey was the sensitive one… Heh!! ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/267 "2022-03-29T15:53:47Z")
After the initial shock wore off, Chris Rock must have thought of so many smart comebacks! So not only should they have ejected Will Smith from the ceremonies… but the person picking up his award and speaking on his behalf should have been Chris Rock. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/268 "2022-03-29T16:01:22Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Speaking of that, I wonder what would have happened if after the incident Rock made an August Alsina reference. Mayhem. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/269 "2022-03-29T16:20:11Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > After the initial shock wore off, Chris Rock must have thought of so many smart comebacks! Yes, but I think he also had stuff ready to go at that moment. Before he continued, he said, “well I could. . .Ok”, then he stopped and contained the situation. You mess with a good, seasoned comedian on-stage, you’re picking a fight with a heavyweight-class smackdown artist. It’s pretty much a certainty that he had someone in his ear telling him not to respond and to de-escalate. I think Rock’s gonna get ten minutes out of this for his next special. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/270 "2022-03-29T16:34:35Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > To be blunt she has the near beer of Bud Lite. How many hairless spots did you see? I saw none. Alopecia is not short hair. Alopecia is completely hairless, ranging from patches like I had early on (alopecia areata) to complete lack of hair all over the body like my wife’s uncle has (alopecia universalis). It is not exotic or rare and it is not a horrible thing. Yeah, I noticed uniform head of short hair as well. I assumed she was getting treatment of one sort or another (maybe steroid injections in her scalp). Maybe that’s why she keeps it short - the regrowth after the last outbreak hasn’t grown out very far. Also, thanks for being cool with my, “near-beer” description. I don’t say it out of callousness, it’s just that autoimmune diseases are almost always so, so much worse than missing hair. And because I haven’t said it enough this post. . .Will’s just crazy, self-important asshole. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/271 "2022-03-29T16:41:30Z")
Richard Spencer. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/272 "2022-03-29T16:47:39Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > If Jada hadn’t pouted and Will didn’t have to, “slap a bitch”… For anyone married, you know this look. It means “DO SOMETHING! I am uncomfortable” without having to say a word. I know it would have been difficult for Smith to just sit there and say to her “Oh, honey, it was just a joke. Settle-down. Don’t worry your pretty little head. I will handle this later…”, but he should have chosen a different course of action. There are lots of other ways to express outrage. ---
**Author:** ![ashtayk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@ashtayk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashtayk)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/273 "2022-03-29T16:48:35Z")
Lack of height, excess weight can also be described as “medical conditions” inasmuch as that the person in the first case and frequently in the second case can’t do anything about it but tolerate the ribbing and jokes. Simply own it and move on. Being thin skinned is just going to make it worse. There were jokes about Melissa McCarthy and her rotundness (although it was self deprecating on Amy’s part), Kevin Hart has been the target of short jokes for ever. I am sure that there are some made by Will himself. Where do you draw the line? There is a reason speech is protected and assault/battery is prosecuted. ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/274 "2022-03-29T17:28:08Z")
Haha, very funny. ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/275 "2022-03-29T17:37:09Z")
Rock made a joke that was fine. GI Jane was a badass, and he was referring to Jada’s short hair, not the underlying condition. He may well not know she has a condition. Smith was 100% wrong. Maybe if Rock was right in his face, and made the joke, Smith might have reacted. As it was he had all the time to get out of his chair, climb up the steps, walk a distance to Rock, to think about his course of action. And were was security? Speaking of Rock, if it had been Rock Johnson up there making the joke, there would have been no slap. Smith sucker punched a much smaller man than he is. I would have like to see Smith kicked out of the ceremony immediately. Someone else could have picked up his oscar for him. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/276 "2022-03-29T17:39:39Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > For anyone married, you know this look. It means “DO SOMETHING! I am uncomfortable” without having to say a word. I know it would have been difficult for Smith to just sit there and say to her “Oh, honey, it was just a joke. Settle-down. Don’t worry your pretty little head. I will handle this later…”, but he should have chosen a different course of action. There are lots of other ways to express outrage. That’s not the way I read her expression. I read it as, “You LAUGHED at that lame-ass joke made at my expense?” And that’s one thing about this whole scenario that really ticks me off. Women are not delicate flowers who need a man to whomp any guy who withers them with a joke. Jada Pinkett Smith is perfectly capable of standing up for herself and has done so many times in the past. Did _she_ jump up and assault ceremony’s emcee? No. Did she yell, “Not funny, you fool!”? No. She sat there with icy dignity and scowled at her childish husband for laughing. Then she had to watch him overcompensate by assaulting the emcee who was doing what Oscar emcees always do: poke fun at those in attendance. Will Smith is a good actor, but he’s extremely egocentric. He made a moment that should have been about his wife about himself. Definitely not cool. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/277 "2022-03-29T17:50:07Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > But I invaded his space, got right in his face, and raised my voice telling him that when she asked him a question he needed to answer her and not _me._ I’m sure I didn’t leave a positive impression with the other customers who probably only saw a crazy person. This sounds like something somebody wearing tactical pants would do. ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/278 "2022-03-29T17:56:06Z")
Will Smith making a bald joke, and then saying “these are jokes, c’mon.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/J7u9_z7ZSnk/maxresdefault.jpg "Will Smith making a bald joke - Arsenio 1991") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7u9_z7ZSnk) ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/279 "2022-03-29T17:59:05Z")
the director of the show should have thrown up a commercial and had it dealt with off camera. i couldn’t believe how long that went live with no intervention by the show runners. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2022, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/280 "2022-03-29T18:12:44Z")
Demi Moore rocked a shaved head in G.I. Jane. Does anyone else think this wasn’t even intended as an insult or “roast” or even really a joke? I thought Rock was saying something more along the lines of, “you look fierce, and you could be the next G.I. Jane.” If he knew she had alopecia, he should have stayed away from it, but it seems more like a maybe slightly funny compliment to me than making fun of her, assuming he didn’t know. (Even if he did know, I don’t think it’s insulting, but it would be unwise and insensitive to comment on it.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826.md?page=15)