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Original poster

Male violence at the Oscars

206 replies

RoseslnTheHospital · 28/03/2022 09:23

Is anyone else disappointed at the reaction to Will Smith's display of aggression at the Oscars? I am really surprised that they didn't have any security staff to remove him from the room when it was apparent what he had done. Everyone there just seemed paralysed into inaction. And then to see all those other men (Denzel Washington, Tyler Perry, Bradley Cooper) consoling and reassuring him, rather than escorting him out.

I'm also disappointed by the wider reaction, with so many people justifying his behaviour due to the (unfunny and vile) joke about his wife. I also think that it's a massive shame for Venus and Serena, that he has won an Oscar for a film about their lives, and yet this is the focus.

OP posts:
Crawfishspots · 28/03/2022 10:29

I’m really disappointed, I liked him as an actor and thought he was a good person.
Violence is completely unacceptable and he should have been removed from the ceremony. And I agree if he behaves like that in front of millions how does he behave behind closed doors? I also can’t fathom why other actors were consoling him and why he was allowed to go up and accept his award to applause? I dislike chris rock and his humour but violence isn’t acceptable.

Clymene · 28/03/2022 10:28

Yeah @WinterTrees Khorsandi sounded like she'd forgotten she was was on Women's Hour and thought she was on Just a Minute.

spacehardware · 28/03/2022 10:26

Agree with all of the above re his property being disrespected, and Nimco Ali. Shudder

Thought he was one of the good guys. Wasn't aware he has form for this, very disappointing

WinterTrees · 28/03/2022 10:26

Sorry itwasntme - didn't see your comment before posting to essentially say the same thing!

WinterTrees · 28/03/2022 10:24

@Clymene

Nimco Ali is on Women's hour now talking about this. She is talking about what he does in private if he behaves like this in public.
Interesting discussion on Woman's Hour. Nimco Ali absolutely spot on in her analysis of a violent man with a massive ego. Shappi Khorsandi wibbling about on the fence and failing to condemn a horrible display of toxic masculinity or make any coherent points at all, really.

How Jada Pinkett-Smith must have felt in the moment and afterwards I can only imagine. I would be utterly disgusted and furious. (If she's on MN - 'AIBU to be FUMING with DH?') Will Smith, in supposedly 'defending' her, totally took away her ability to deal with it in her own way and has made it all about him. And about a million times worse.

BeforeGodAndAllTheFish · 28/03/2022 10:22

@tabbycatstripy

Of course he's got away with it. He's won an Oscar and had hundreds of thousands of hours' worth of attention. He hasn't been arrested (which is what should happen when someone is violent). So far he hasn't been sued. I hope he is.
It would end Chris Rock's career if he sued Smith or filed a police report.

The split on twitter is pretty 50/50 with regards to whether or not Will was wrong to slap him. If he goes to the police or sues will then the 50% of people who are defending Smith will turn that to bashing chris rock and trying to ruin him. The supporters of Chris will be much quieter.

Right now, the story is about the slap. With the joke obviously being mentioned but the story is Will Smith slapping him. If he sues, the story becomes about the joke and probably about all the jokes he has ever made which have cut close to the quick. He cant sue or file charges. He'd be done.

Holothane · 28/03/2022 10:19

Not a fan of him since I never saw this can’t comment but he’s has slapped someone he should be off the stage. I feel for his wife though unfunny joke.

Itwasntmeright · 28/03/2022 10:17

Notice despite him kicking off to defend his wife’s honour, he’s managed to make this all about himself. Nobody has heard a peep out of her or seems to give a shit how she is feeling.

And yeah, if he can belt somebody on stage at the Oscars in front of an audience of hundreds of millions, what is he like in private?

The joke was tasteless, but yet again it’s a man using a woman to justify his violent reaction.

Original poster
RoseslnTheHospital · 28/03/2022 10:16

I wonder who was in charge of the actual ceremony from the pov of the Academy, and why they seemed to be paralysed into inaction. It seems clear to me that someone could have had him removed, and arranged for someone else to receive the Oscar, and not allow a speech.

OP posts:
tabbycatstripy · 28/03/2022 10:14

Of course he's got away with it. He's won an Oscar and had hundreds of thousands of hours' worth of attention. He hasn't been arrested (which is what should happen when someone is violent). So far he hasn't been sued. I hope he is.

Original poster
RoseslnTheHospital · 28/03/2022 10:12

So far Smith has got away with it. He wasn't removed from the ceremony, he wasn't arrested or charged with assault. He was reassured and consoled by other wealthy males and then allowed to remain and receive his award and given time to voice his justifications during his acceptance speech.

OP posts:
Clymene · 28/03/2022 10:09

Nimco Ali is on Women's hour now talking about this. She is talking about what he does in private if he behaves like this in public.

PutinIsAWarCriminal · 28/03/2022 10:09

Would a stage assistant have got away with it? Would someone less high profile have got away with it? no and no, but neither has Will Smith, not in public opinion at least. My point is that that bullying and public humiliation happens all the time on stage, and every now and then the big mouth picks on the wrong person.

tabbycatstripy · 28/03/2022 10:02

'I just don't like bullies. I'm not saying punching someone is right, but one day it was going to happen.'

I think Will Smith acted like a bully more than Rock did. He swaggered up there knowing he is incredibly wealthy and Hollywood powerful, and nobody was going to stop him. Would a stage assistant have got away with it? Would someone less high profile have got away with it?

SpringHasSprungYay · 28/03/2022 10:00

I'm horrified by the number of people who are making excuses for him. It's just ego. Imagine how he behaves when nobody is watching.

This. 😢

Huckleberries73 · 28/03/2022 09:59

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Original poster
RoseslnTheHospital · 28/03/2022 09:58

Well, quite. Chris Rock did him a favour too by remaining calm and continuing without escalating the situation.

I don't know how it works in the US, but could Smith be dealt with by the police even if Rock doesn't report the incident to them?

OP posts:
SpringHasSprungYay · 28/03/2022 09:58

I can't believe they let him receive an Oscar after that.

Where were the security guards? Why didn't they remove him for assaulting someone?

PutinIsAWarCriminal · 28/03/2022 09:57

Nobody has to go to comedy shows. Jokes have targets quite a lot of the time and I bet Will Smith laughs when it's other people. I just don't like bullies. I'm not saying punching someone is right, but one day it was going to happen.

tabbycatstripy · 28/03/2022 09:55

'Every one is supposed to be a good sport and laugh along whilst dying inside. Well this time he picked on the wrong family.'

Nobody has to go to comedy shows. Jokes have targets quite a lot of the time and I bet Will Smith laughs when it's other people.

tabbycatstripy · 28/03/2022 09:54

'Will Smith is an aggressive violent man and I'm appalled that anyone condones his behaviour.

No wonder we have such an epidemic of male violence in our society.'

I'm horrified by the number of people who are making excuses for him. It's just ego. Imagine how he behaves when nobody is watching.

Clymene · 28/03/2022 09:50

Violence is never okay. Never.

That was not about defending Jada's honour either, it was about protecting Will's ego. He was shouting 'my wife'. Not Jada but 'my wife'. She is a possession, and Rock dissed her.

Will Smith is an aggressive violent man and I'm appalled that anyone condones his behaviour.

No wonder we have such an epidemic of male violence in our society.

PutinIsAWarCriminal · 28/03/2022 09:49

I think public bullying by presenters has been a problem for a while. So called comedians, like all these American chat show hosts, get cheap laughs by humiliating their guests or audience. Every one is supposed to be a good sport and laugh along whilst dying inside. Well this time he picked on the wrong family.

Original poster
RoseslnTheHospital · 28/03/2022 09:48

@AgentCarterRocks

While I abhor violence, I would have had more of a problem with Will Smith being removed from the event for unreasonable behaviour, unless Chris Rock was also removed from the event for unreasonable behaviour - mocking Java Pickett Smith.

If she had had a stroke, and now walked with a stick, and he'd made a comment about Willy Wonka, or had a massive surgery scar and he made a comment about Blofeld, he would have been considered well out of order. Why would it be okay to mock her appearance because of alopecia?

I don't condone what Will Smith did but he knows better than us how she's been coping with her diagnosis and I can well imagine that he felt he needed to do something when he saw the look on her face.

But this comment is condoning violence. You're saying you'd be unhappy that the perpetrator faced immediate consequences for violence, and that the violence is understandable because of the comments made about Pinkett-Smith. What is that if not condoning??

There is no need to assume that those objecting to the violence support the comments made by Chris Rock. It was a "joke" that was about as funny as a bucket of cold sick. He shouldn't have said it, it was a case of "punching down" to joke about a woman with a medical condition.

OP posts:
tabbycatstripy · 28/03/2022 09:45

'While I abhor violence, I would have had more of a problem with Will Smith being removed from the event for unreasonable behaviour, unless Chris Rock was also removed from the event for unreasonable behaviour - mocking Java Pickett Smith.'

You can't put a joke on the same level as physical assault. Rock was hired to make these sorts of jokes. Everyone knows the event will include jokes that roast people (rightly or wrongly) and nobody has to go.