# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/101 "2022-03-28T15:09:23Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Smith targeted the level of smack, the amount of trash talking, etc. to all fit inside a soundbite and not truly harm Rock in any way. He got revenge for his wife, created a perfect moment of TV, and helped to boost Rock’s image. It was a perfect chance for the heist, where he could get away with it, and he used his talents as an entertainer to pull it off, knowing that he would get away with it because it was great TV and no one had truly been hurt. This. Smith calculated that Rock was to be the demonstration for all the people who laughed at him and his wife for the past year or so. He quietly walked up, and escalation beyond what Rock could ever predict, suckered him (in front of international TV), and quickly went back back to his seat before anyone knew what he was planning. A few curses as a soundbyte and he’s home free. He even got to gather sympathy from the other celebs and make a tearful acceptance speech. Pretty slick. ETA: Oh, not staged. Just that Smith knew what he could do to intimidate, send a message, and stayed within those privileged boundaries. Smith wanted to send a message to everyone. Rock was the “whipping boy” ---
**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 28, 2022, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/102 "2022-03-28T15:11:35Z")
I don’t think it was staged but if I was making that argument I’d point to how relatively eloquent Smith’s supposedly improvised acceptance/ faux apology speech was. He really is a good actor ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/103 "2022-03-28T15:21:40Z")
I’m surprised you guys are seriously considering this was staged. What does Will Smith have to gain by doing this? This isn’t some D list young actor who wants to try to make an impression, this is one of the most famous people in the world. He has also tried to cultivate a wholesome image in his career, not as some dude that’s going to assault people. There’s no way Smith decides to risk his legacy and career for, what, to get in the news on the night where he won the best actor oscar? To boost oscar ratings? Plus, the dude is screaming “fuck” on national TV (it was censored in the US, but he knew he was on camera and had to think it might go through) when he wouldn’t even swear in his rap songs. That’s so outside the image he wants to project that I can’t find a plausible reason for him to want to stage this. Additionally, Chris Rocks’ shock reads as genuine to me. Also, if he was going to do some sort of play along acting, he would’ve acted like the slap was a way bigger deal than the way he tanked it. Plus… all the publicists immediately rushed to his side to do damage control. I don’t think they would be clever enough to think to simulate that if they were all in on it and planned it all out. There’s no way this was fake and pre-planned. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/104 "2022-03-28T15:23:20Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > I mean, until recently the Academy was fully enabling Harvey Weinstein to prey on pretty young talent without batting an eyelid. The movie entertainment business is well known for rewarding and enabling powerful people with abusive demeanors. Oh, this hasn’t ended. The industry made a big song and dance over making Weinstein a pariah, and so many people coming forward to claim they didn’t know (even though Weinstein’s proclivity to rape was a running joke for a couple of decades) and you still find people claiming that what Bill Cosby admitted to doing wasn’t so bad. Sean Penn has mostly managed to keep his “issues” under wraps thanks to a really great publicist and the propensity of the industry to not look too deep into an “acclaimed actor”, and there are many others who use their influence to keep victims and observers quiet. As for Chris Rock, so many people have wanted to slap him that what Will Smith did wasn’t so much personal pique over a tasteless, unfunny joke about his wife’s medical condition as a collective catharsis. At least it was a moment of genuine spontaneity in an otherwise dull evening of industry self-congratulation and promotion. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/105 "2022-03-28T15:26:51Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I’m going to cut Will Smith some slack here. Depression and anxiety often accompany those suffering from Alopecia, and its likely Will’s had plenty of opportunity to see Jada in pain and has done his best to comfort her. So, no, I don’t think it’s as simply as refraining from responding to words with violence. “He’s been under a lot of stress lately. Really, it’s my fault for provoking him.” Isn’t this the kind of thing said by domestic abuse victims about their abusers? When did “he’s been under a lot of stress lately” become an acceptable justification/excuse for violent behavior, whether domestic or public? ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/106 "2022-03-28T15:27:19Z")
I’ll repeat. This was definitely not staged. Just that Smith is a person who **extremely** cultivates his image. He’s done so since he was a kid. The man knows what to say and how to say it. I’m sure he’s been sizing people up for years due to him/his relationship being a common joke in the public. But he doesn’t slap 50 cent for openly clowning him and spreading his private texts. However he knew what he could do to Chris Rock though. That’s kinda how power works. And Smith is very good at projecting his image. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/107 "2022-03-28T15:31:18Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Yeah, I don’t think there’s never a “Well, he was asking for it” point but it obviously isn’t at Step One like we saw last night. Plus the weirdness of Smith laughing at the joke then suddenly deciding it was time to storm the barricades. I don’t believe it was staged but, if I WAS making that argument, I’d probably point to that as “evidence” that Smith wasn’t actually driven into some mindless physical rage. I read an article somewhere that speculated that Smith responded as he did not because he was offended by the joke but because he saw how hurt his wife was after the fact. Smith didn’t hit Rock because he was mad about the joke; he hit him because he was mad at himself for laughing along at something that really devastated his wife. ---
**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 28, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/108 "2022-03-28T15:36:56Z")
Staged no. I do however think that Will Smith performed throughout. To the joke initially: performance smile small laugh Then wife shaking her head declaring herself offended across the line. Performance for his wife’s benefit of the part of “manning up” and not letting that small man say that about her. Slap. But yeah a slap. Not punching him in the face. A punk ass old time French gentleman’s slap. One could even imagine him taking off a white glove first. A slap of someone who was of much less power in many ways and in no position to fight back. In a room with lots of people primed to toady to you as the power couple. And as above few big lovers of Chris Rock. Not preplanned staged but very performative. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/109 "2022-03-28T15:51:14Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Isn’t this the kind of thing said by domestic abuse victims about their abusers? When did “he’s been under a lot of stress lately” become an acceptable justification/excuse for violent behavior, whether domestic or public? You’re right, it is the kind of thing you might hear in a domestic abuse situation, but the dynamic isn’t the same here and I don’t think Will Smith has a known history of violence. At least if there are any stories of Will being physically or mentally abusive on set then I haven’t heard it. I realize I’m in the minority here in thinking there are mitigating circumstances here. We all laughed when Buzz Aldrin decked Bart Sibrel, right? Or was it just me? ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/110 "2022-03-28T15:55:55Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I don’t think Will Smith has a known history of violence Me neither. Certainly we must hold our opinions with the idea that Will Smith has no known history of abuse. This we can agree on. > We all laughed when Buzz Aldrin decked Bart Sibrel, right? I don’t think Smith was confronted by a moon nut in the street who denied that Smith acted in Independence Day. They both choose violence, but the contexts are widely different. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/111 "2022-03-28T15:56:43Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > We all laughed when Buzz Aldrin decked Bart Sibrel, right? Or was it just me? I didn’t so much laugh as cheer. Despite our modern sensibilities against public violence, there are times when a good slap or a solid punch is called for, [especially when the recipient just doesn’t know when to shut his fucking mouth](https://youtu.be/4nLDugAEyb4). Stranger ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/112 "2022-03-28T16:02:02Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > If I knew who Andy Serkins was … perhaps. 🙂 Serkis. He’s an actor, mostly known for his motion capture work as Gollum in Lord of the Rings, King Kong, Caesar in the new Planet of the Apes films and so on. He does live action too. > [@Odesio](#): > > Do you think Will Smith is that kind of person? I don’t follow celebrity news closely, but this is the first time I’ve heard of him getting violent. In this particular case, it would appear so. But I was speaking more generally of people posting on the internet that Rock “deserved it” on some level for his comments or that they would have done the same thing. At best, they are just posturing and talking juvenile or at worst they are violent a-holes. It sort of begs the question, if Will Smith is the sort of person who would run onstage to strike a comedian because he doesn’t like a joke about his wife, are we to also believe he wouldn’t slap Jada Smith if provoked on a particularly bad day? ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/113 "2022-03-28T16:06:20Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > It sort of begs the question, if Will Smith is the sort of person who would run onstage to strike a comedian because he doesn’t like a joke about his wife, are we to also believe he wouldn’t slap Jada Smith if provoked on a particularly bad day? I can’t speak for Will Smith but the times I would use force against my wife are none, up to and possibly including her attempting to badly injure me. The times I would use force against other people to defend her are infinitely more numerous. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/114 "2022-03-28T16:13:14Z")
It was a promotion for Everybody Hates Chris 2. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/115 "2022-03-28T16:14:24Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > > [@msmith537](#): > > > > It sort of begs the question, if Will Smith is the sort of person who would run onstage to strike a comedian because he doesn’t like a joke about his wife, are we to also believe he wouldn’t slap Jada Smith if provoked on a particularly bad day? > > I can’t speak for Will Smith but the times I would use force against my wife are none, up to and possibly including her attempting to badly injure me. The times I would use force against other people to defend her are infinitely more numerous. But would you jump onstage in front of millions of people because you thought a comedian insulted your wife? ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/116 "2022-03-28T16:16:01Z")
When it comes down to the individual person the answer might be: “Well, could I get away with it?” ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/117 "2022-03-28T16:16:41Z")
Could we agree that the gentlemanly thing _and_ the Hollywood Power Play would have been to take his wife’s hand and walk out, explain the reason for offense, and not return until an apology was made? ---
**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 28, 2022, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/118 "2022-03-28T16:17:54Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > are we to also believe he wouldn’t slap Jada Smith if provoked on a particularly bad day? Will Smith has no reason to be afraid of Chris Rock. I think he is however afraid of his wife. Seriously this had the flavor of his performing out of fear of how she’d react if he just sat there without defending her. Fear of a what kind of man are you beratement. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/119 "2022-03-28T16:19:23Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Could we agree that the gentlemanly thing _and_ the Hollywood Power Play would have been to take his wife’s hand and walk out, explain the reason for offense, and not return until an apology was made? That would make for a terrible YouTube clip. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/120 "2022-03-28T16:21:00Z")
Ricky Gervais, years ago, said this about jokes: “Offence often occurs when people mistake the subject of a joke with the actual target. They’re not always the same.” If we apply that to Chris Rock’s joke, what was the subject and what was the target? Here’s the joke from a transcript: “Jada. I love you. GI Jane 2. Can’t wait to see it.” I’m not that great at breaking down grammar, so looking for help. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826.md?page=7)