# 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:** 40
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/781 "2022-04-12T16:19:35Z")
So do I, and I know other things about them, but Zsa Zsa is cemented in my mind for slapping the cop. I know she’s one of three Gabor sisters; I know she’s Hungarian; I even have her mother’s cookbook on the shelf, but first thing that comes to mind? Cop slap. Stossel I vaguely remember for that incident. I mostly remember him as a host of 20/20. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/782 "2022-04-12T16:46:17Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > And looking at Zsa Zsa Gabor isn’t a useful predictor, here, because unlike Chris Rock, there’s not a whole lot in Zsa Zsa’s career that’s worth remembering. It was a small point I was making but to over-analyze the point… I do believe Chris Rock may suffer a hit to his legacy and deserves compensation. But playing devil’s advocate, perhaps his career will _not_ suffer. He is a stand-up comedian and a very good one. As opposed to, let’s say a serious actor with a more staid image to maintain, a witty stand-up like Rock could turn it around to his advantage. I hope he does. Immediately after being slapped, Rock said, _“oh wow, wow…Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me.”_ He said it with a smile on his face and it was funny. I was impressed by that. Had he so chosen, he could have riffed on that for the next few minutes and I have no doubt he would have had the audience in stitches while burying Smith. Perhaps _that_ would have been the focal point of the incident, and what was most remembered. What was Zza Zza Gabor’s schtick? We agree it wasn’t her talent as an actress. It was being a glamorous (or at least pseudo-glamorous) celebrity, along with her sisters, who said ridiculous things with a funny accent. I’m sure she would have preferred her legacy to be defined by her humor and glamour, not by a slap. Did the slap hurt her career? I don’t know, I believe she was mostly retired at that point. But it could have tarnished her image and hurt her career if it happened years earlier. And, of course, Gabor was the perpetrator, not the victim, but that’s not the point. ---
**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:** [April 12, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/783 "2022-04-12T16:55:58Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Had he so chosen, he could have riffed on that for the next few minutes and I have no doubt he would have had the audience in stitches while burying Smith. That would have been either brilliant or horrific. If he had said, “Will Smith, the only actor that makes it seem that Tom Cruise has a sense of humor.” it would work. If Rock had said, “Do I have to worry about August Alsina slapping me too?” maybe not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/784 "2022-04-12T19:28:48Z")
Or something less sad like, _“do I have to worry about Zza Zza Gabor rising from the dead and slapping me too?”_ ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/785 "2022-04-12T19:47:27Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > She also slapped a cop, was charged with multiple crimes, was found guilty at trial, was sentenced to jail and carried on an appeal that lasted nearly a year. Yeah, she leaned into the publicity of the slap pretty hard, including doing a cameo in a _Naked Gun_ movie that was a direct reference to the incident. Kind of hard to argue that hitting that cop really damaged her career in any significant way. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/786 "2022-04-12T20:09:35Z")
One wonders if OJ Simpson would have been offered roles in the Naked Gun sequels _after_ his run in with the law. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/787 "2022-04-12T20:11:39Z")
You mean his murder trial? Considering he’s never worked in any film or TV show since then, in any capacity whatsoever… I’m gonna guess “no.” ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/788 "2022-04-12T20:13:59Z")
It was a joke. At least I hope it was. Who knows with Hollywood today. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/789 "2022-04-12T23:15:47Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Who knows with Hollywood today. I know. People **still** work with Roman Polanski. Of course he is an **artist** and not a meathead jock with limited acting ability like OJ Simpson. /s ---
**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:** [April 13, 2022, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/790 "2022-04-13T00:07:56Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > … this might be perception bias. I’ve seen Rock’s entire career. Yes. You really are not representative of the country overall. Imagine a poll that fairly represents this country across age gender geographic and racial/ethnic lines. Include all those Trump voters, and all of those in their 20s. What would be _your_ guess as to the percentage aware that Chris Rock was slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars for telling a joke. I’d say an overwhelming majority. Not all but a huge fraction. This was one of those nationwide communal experiences, not all in real time, but seeing it over the next several days for sure. There aren’t too many of those experiences. What percent do you think have watched even one of Chris Rock’s stand up specials? Could name more than one project he has been associated with other than being on stage at the Oscars? For both I am very confident the number is very small. I’m betting that the number who could even name _one_ is very small among those too young to have watched SNL in the early '90s. The issue is not that he is not well known for a stand up; the issue is that stand ups are not well known. I’d have a hard time naming more than a small hand full without having to google to check the names. I hope you are right and this does not define him going forward. But I have no doubt that _he_ is worried about that happening, and is thinking long and hard exactly how to address it going forward to minimize that possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/791 "2022-04-13T00:21:09Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > A career worth of hard work and this is gonna be his legacy. It really isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Pedro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/919ad9/32.png) [@Pedro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pedro)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/792 "2022-04-13T00:26:11Z")
Chris Rock comes out of it looking professional and restrained. I’m sure this episode will follow him but it will be to say “remember when Chris Rock handled really well that weirdo who assaulted him at the Oscars”, not “remember that embarrassing incident when Chris Rock was sucker slapped at the Oscars”. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/793 "2022-04-13T00:26:22Z")
Are you kidding me? He was HUGE from the mid-90s to the mid-00s. He was basically the Eddie Murphy of that era. Even got shoehorned into a _Lethal Weapon_ movie because the producers didn’t think Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, and Joe Pesci had enough drawing power. He had a sitcom about his childhood long before Sheldon Cooper or The Rock copied him. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/794 "2022-04-13T00:27:39Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > What would be _your_ guess as to the percentage aware that Chris Rock was slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars for telling a joke. I’d say an overwhelming majority. Not all but a huge fraction. This was one of those nationwide communal experiences, not all in real time, but seeing it over the next several days for sure. There aren’t too many of those experiences. > > What percent do you think have watched even one of Chris Rock’s stand up specials? Could name more than one project he has been associated with other than being on stage at the Oscars? For both I am very confident the number is very small. I’m betting that the number who could even name _one_ is very small among those too young to have watched SNL in the early '90s. The issue is not that he is not well known for a stand up; the issue is that stand ups are not well known. I’d have a hard time naming more than a small hand full without having to google to check the names. Arguments are really easy when you get to make up your own statistics, I guess. ---
**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:** [April 13, 2022, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/795 "2022-04-13T00:33:53Z")
I do not exist exclusively in a bubble of people of my own age group and interests. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/796 "2022-04-13T00:38:33Z")
That still doesn’t make “I bet the numbers would look like this!” a compelling argument. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/797 "2022-04-13T00:43:36Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > Sure, except, clapping is not “keeping your head down”. It is if everyone else is clapping. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/798 "2022-04-13T02:15:37Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > What percent do you think have watched even one of Chris Rock’s stand up specials? Could name more than one project he has been associated with other than being on stage at the Oscars? For both I am very confident the number is very small. Dunno. My own perception is that it isn’t as small as you think. I mean early 90’s SNL is one thing, but Everybody Hates Chris aired in the mid to late 2000’s and was heavily re-run afterwards on a series of younger audience channels like Nick at Nite, MTV and VH-1. But both of us are just speculating, I guess 🙂. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/799 "2022-04-13T02:21:16Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > What would be _your_ guess as to the percentage aware that Chris Rock was slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars for telling a joke. I’d say an overwhelming majority. Not all but a huge fraction I hate best of lists, because they are so subjective. But, Rolling Stone lists Chris Rock at 5. Beating out both Seinfeld and Chapelle. As far as stand-ups go, he’s a household name. [50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/50-best-stand-up-comics-of-all-time-126359/) ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/800 "2022-04-13T02:29:41Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > > [@DSeid](#): > > > > What percent do you think have watched even one of Chris Rock’s stand up specials? Could name more than one project he has been associated with other than being on stage at the Oscars? For both I am very confident the number is very small. > > Dunno. My own perception is that it isn’t as small as you think. I mean early 90’s SNL is one thing, but Everybody Hates Chris aired in the mid to late 2000’s and was heavily re-run afterwards on a series of younger audience channels like Nick at Nite, MTV and VH-1. > > But both of us are just speculating, I guess 🙂. Rock is so well known he has solo hosted two Academy Awards. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826.md?page=39) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826.md?page=41)