Will Smith is a weak little cowardly shit. First he was laughing so when he walked to Chris Rock it seemed in jest. The he does the sneak slap because of a very tame joke when he knows Chris Rock as a performer and presenter can’t really respond in kind.
I will never touch anything this asshole participates in again. I am shocked that anyone could consider physically assaulting someone at the Oscars because of “GI Jane” acceptable.
She’s in the same school as Gwyneth Paltrow when it comes to Hollywood woo-woo (imo).
Will Smith has apologized to Chris Rock. Click the link to read the whole thing.
Nice to know next time I hit someone over words, all I need to do is say “I’m sorry” and everything is ok.
He was laughing at the joke itself until he glanced over at his wife and saw her reaction. Then it was all “Let’s teach the kids that violence is the answer!”
Wait!! Forget everything else!!
What happened to DJ Jazzy Jeff?!
I was more bothered by the fact he was referencing an almost-forgotten movie from 25 years ago that nobody liked when it was released. That’s a type of reference that even Dennis Miller wouldn’t even have attempted.
So, in other words, even when you were that angry, you still didn’t commit an act of violence, even in the moment. And you didn’t even have to walk up to him in front of millions of people.
There’s a clear line here. The type of person who will assault someone because they got angry, not thinking through the repercussions—they are not going to be able to limit their targets. All it would take is for the wife or kids to make them that angry for them to react the same way.
And that’s something I’m not seeing here: the consquences. Does slapping Chris Rock make these jokes stop? Hell no. It took a show that many weren’t paying attention to, and a lame joke that most people would have ignored, and put a huge spotlight on it. And then it made it an act of defiance against a violent person to make that joke yourself. The result is that everyone thinks Jada Smith put him up to it, so they lack any reason to show restraint. I guarantee you there is a huge swath of people now making that exact joke, or worse.
So it’s not only violent and wrong, and likely indicative of Will’s own propensity for domestic violence (if he’ll do it in public without seeing the issue, he clearly does it in private) but it’s also utterly fucking stupid. It doesn’t make the jokes stop. It’s the Streisand Effect on anabolic steroids.
I supported Rock acquiescing in the moment. But the only way this violence in society can be dealt with is if people push back against it. I myself won’t make that particular joke again, but only because of collateral damage to others with similar conditions. I will, however, refer to Will Smith as a dangerous psychopath and his wife Jada as an enabler.
Hell, this shit sets back racism stuff, because it plays right into the “black men deal with problems with violence” stereotype. Fuck Will Smith (and Jada if she did support him) for that.
His PR person is very eloquent. Well done, PR person!
What did Jada do? And I would be surprised if they do much to Will Smith. He has made a lot more money in the industry that Chris Rock has.
No joke, I think he tweeted support for Will. I…think this is him?
https://twitter.com/djjazzyjeff215/status/1508283201822859266
Ah, yeah, money is the most important thing.
What did Jada do? Well, Will was laughing heartily at the joke until she flashed him a look, which prompted him to shoot up on stage and sucker punch a presenter.
Just today, my neighbor, who is black, said Have you seen a white guy hitting someone on tv? I couldn’t think of it offhand
No. But I imagine someone could say things to my wife that would lead to me punching them in the face. Though I understand and expect there would be consequences for my action.
Will Smith is 53 years old and I believe his children are either adults or very close to adults. Is there any evidence that he abused his children when they made him mad? Did he hit Jada when she made him mad? Does he have a reputation for this kind of behavior on set? It’s certainly possible Will is just a terribly violent person and we’re just now hearing about it. But I doubt it.
Psychopath seems a bit strong. But, okay.
Andy Kaufman and that wrestler dude.
But that was staged
OK. We’re gonna go with every televised hockey game, then.
Person A: [says some words]
Person B: Walks up to Person A and hits him.
To let this pass or to excuse Person B sends a powerful message all over the world: violence is the correct response when you don’t like what someone says.
This is extraordinarily ugly and if the Academy does nothing, they are complicit.
Yes.
Exactly.
Well said (and welcome back to the Dope).
The thing Chris Rock said was that Jada is fit and fierce enough to plausibly be cast in a remake of GI Jane. That’s no insult. But even if Rock had actually mocked Jada’s medical condition, that would NOT have justified Will’s choice to commit violence.
If, as a culture, we decide ‘violence is fine if you feel insulted by someone’s words,’ then we will get exactly what we deserve.
This message board cheered on Buzz Aldrin for punching someone who made him mad.
It was an official SDMB policy?