# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/121 "2022-03-28T16:30:41Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > Would Smith have done the same thing if it weren’t Chris Rock making the joke but The Rock? In all honesty if “The Rock” Duane Johnson had been involved I think there would have been even more suspicion that the whole thing was staged and a work due to Johnson’s past as pro wrestler. As a pro wrestling fan I am naturally suspicious of any sort of physical confrontation at a public event between two celebrities. And frankly considering how the whole thing between Smith/Chris Rock transpired I still think this whole thing was staged. ---
**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, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/122 "2022-03-28T16:31:42Z")
> [@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? It doesn’t beg any such question from me. I don’t think of myself as a violent person as I’m more prone to de-escalate a situation than I am to escalate it, but even my buttons can be pushed. Early in my marriage, Mrs. Odesio and I were car shopping in Little Rock and at the first dealer we went to she would ask the sales associate a question and instead of answering her he would look at me and answer the question. I was bemused by this at first but as this continued I could see that my wife was hurt and angry. No, I didn’t respond by slugging the salesman in his face. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/123 "2022-03-28T17:14:14Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > And frankly considering how the whole thing between Smith/Chris Rock transpired I still think this whole thing was staged. This whole type of mindset pisses me off so much. There is so much shit in the world right now caused by people who want to pretend that reality isn’t actually real. “It’s staged!” “It’s fake!” “It’s a hoax!” No actual evidence, just “I feel it’s staged so it must be fake.” Idiotic bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/124 "2022-03-28T17:20:46Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Idiotic bullshit. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/125 "2022-03-28T17:24:48Z")
Haven’t read the thread; apologies for any redundancy. I would have expected this level of arrogance from Will Smith. I haven’t forgotten the way he let his kids carry on when they were teenagers. What stopped me in my tracks was the **two, loud** F-bombs. And the tone he used. “Kinda ghetto,” is what my friend who is of color, and from Detroit, said. As for Rock’s comments, come **on**. Anyone who thinks that was out of line has never seen the Oscars in recent years. Even if he knew Jada has alopecia and was _trying_ to be mean about it, storming the stage was still not warranted. You frown, you make a “cut” gesture, you call out “I’ll see you after the show!”. You don’t slap someone in front of almost literally the world. Also, reportedly Jada gave her husband a “You better!” look, after he initially laughed at “G.I. Jane”, which he obeyed by going up on stage. Good grief, woman. If she herself had stood up where she was and calmly said, “I don’t appreciate that. I think you know why I look like this. Not cool, Chris,” she would be praised for her dignity. Instead, her husband looks like a bigger donkey excavation than Michael Moore did in '03. Fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/126 "2022-03-28T17:29:29Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > I did not know Jada has alopecia and I thought she looked great. Did Chris know she has alopecia? > > Not that it matters for how I feel about the whole hitting thing anyway. It matters since he did an entire movie about black women’s hair and the emotional history that goes with it. If he didn’t know she had alopecia then it was an innocent joke about a trendy hair cut. If he did know then it was a cruel joke. But Will Smith was at an event that was saturated with red carpet interviews. He could have verbally slapped Chris Rock into next Tuesday. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lantern2/32/3010_2.png) [@Lantern2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern2)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/127 "2022-03-28T17:30:41Z")
I think my main reaction is to be impressed at how calm Rock was in what must have been a really stressful situation. In the circumstances I think " That was the greatest night in the history of television" is a pretty funny line. ---
**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, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/128 "2022-03-28T17:43:15Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > The times I would use force against other people to defend her are infinitely more numerous. Use force to defend her from physical attack? Eminently reasonable. But would you use force to defend your wife from a simple joke? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/129 "2022-03-28T17:48:31Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > “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? The abuser here, if that’s what it really is, is Chris Rock, who publicly humiliated a woman over her medical problems secure in the knowledge that he could do it without consequences. Lighten up, it’s just a joke, right? Humiliating her over her looks was his job, so it’s no big deal. I wonder what would the response have been if SHE walked up to the stage and slapped him? I would have suggested a parade. Rock is, frankly, lucky that it was her husband instead of her. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/130 "2022-03-28T17:49:00Z")
Chris Rock roasts celebs, they’re just words. He didn’t “deserve” to be hit. Will Smith has always seemed like a reasonable guy to me. Whether he is or isn’t, if he decided to interrupt the Oscars to walk up on stage slap/hit Chris Rock then he has some serious anger management problems. If he really had serious beef with Chris Rock why not go to his dressing room after the show, why commit assault in front of millions of people? Based on all that I would tend to say it’s staged. ---
**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, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/131 "2022-03-28T17:53:21Z")
I’m of the belief that you have one job there as a comedian. Tell jokes. If you are hit you are hit; sad but don’t stop telling jokes. Just DIRECT the jokes at a target now. …and be ready to receive even more violence. Let their violence show itself. or hide. or run. but keep telling jokes. You shouldn’t have to be bruised or assaulted for your craft/gig/art but if you are… wear it. ---
**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, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/132 "2022-03-28T17:57:45Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > But would you jump onstage in front of millions of people because you thought a comedian insulted your wife? > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Use force to defend her from physical attack? Eminently reasonable. But would you use force to defend your wife from a simple joke? I seriously doubt it. I’m not very violent and I don’t take offense at words easily. Neither does my wife. But I’ve never been in the position, as Mr, Smith seemingly was, of having so deeply disappointed my wife in front of millions of people. And, this may sound stupid based on what you all saw, but did Smith really use force, or did he use non-verbal communication to convey an insult? Sure, there was some level of contact, but it didn’t look like Mr. Smith was aiming to hurt anyone. It was described upthread as “performative.” That sounds right to me. Mr. Smith’s reaction was untoward, uncivil, and likely illegal. I’m not condoning it. I can understand it, however, without believing Mr. Smith is a fundamentally violent person or spouse abuser, as others have suggested. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/133 "2022-03-28T18:00:18Z")
Hey, Will Smith physically assaulted a man at an internationally-televised black-tie event. Chris Rock got open-palm slapped by the Pat Boone of rap. Neither of their reps are unbruised after last night ---
**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, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/134 "2022-03-28T18:00:36Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > but did Smith really use force, or did he use non-verbal communication to convey an insult I think striking Rock was force (by any definition), and it also was a threat of more severe force unless he shut up. How it would have played out… we don’t know. Rock shut up. ---
**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, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/135 "2022-03-28T18:06:45Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Hey, Will Smith physically assaulted a man at an internationally-televised black-tie event. Chris Rock got open-palm slapped by the Pat Boone of rap. Neither of their reps are unbruised after last night Oh, come on. It doesn’t get much harder than Nightmare on my Street. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/136 "2022-03-28T18:11:21Z")
When someone has made an offensive comment from stage or podium, I express my response in written evaluation and (if useful) follow-up with organizational leadership (if professional), or by leaving (if "entertainment or similar). This is not difficult. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/137 "2022-03-28T18:18:58Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Why did Will Smith use an open hand? > > Because paper beats Rock. Thread 🏆 ---
**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, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/138 "2022-03-28T18:24:58Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > I think striking Rock was force (by any definition), and it also was a threat of more severe force unless he shut up. I agree it was force but I was trying to make a point; the slap didn’t seem to carry any actual intent to physically harm. If Mr. Smith had been waving his finger in front of Mr. Rock’s face and accidentally swiped his nose, it would technically also be force. The slap seemed more likely intended to convey displeasure than to cause physical harm. The slap was definitely intended to insult Mr. Rock. Perhaps it could be interpreted as a threat of more severe force. Do we know if Mr. Rock saw it as such? It seems Mr. Rock doesn’t want prosecution. ---
**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, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/139 "2022-03-28T18:31:37Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > Perhaps it could be interpreted as a threat of more severe force. This is bordering on obtuse. I’m not sure I want to argue how striking Rock midsession in the Oscars and angerly demanding he not invoke Jada’s name isn’t a threat of more severe force. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826/140 "2022-03-28T18:32:54Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > The abuser here, if that’s what it really is, is Chris Rock, who publicly humiliated a woman over her medical problems **secure in the knowledge that he could do it without consequences.** How so? People have suffered consequences up to and including the ending of their careers over insensitive public remarks and tasteless jokes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-will-smith-punched-chris-rock-at-the-oscars-last-night/961826.md?page=8)