Will Smith punches Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars.

[CheeseMuffin]

I think I speak for us all when I ask WTF just happened?

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/mar/27/will-smith-punch-chris-rock-wife-joke-gi-jane-video-oscars

As someone who has alopecia, if someone made a joke about it onstage I would be mortified and upset. My sympathy is with Jada.
Will Smith overreacted but Chris Rock was completely out of line.

They are actors. It’s just the Academy trying to do something about the consistently poor ratings. All while clearly having told everyone not to even bothering to say “Ukraine” out loud.

@Elfsumflowerpig

As someone who has alopecia, if someone made a joke about it onstage I would be mortified and upset. My sympathy is with Jada. Will Smith overreacted but Chris Rock was completely out of line.

The Smith’s will have agreed to the whole thing. It is cruel to alopecia sufferers. But seriously doubt it was not set up with them beforehand.

Will was laughing till his saw Jada's face sunk, she appeared hurt at joke

Deffo a set up

This is the commercial break

twitter.com/i/status/1508273120473325573

I disagree @unname. If you watch the Twitter link sashh posted above, you can see the aftermath with Denzel Washington and others comforting/calming Will Smith.

It wasn't a set-up. Chris Rock looked really shaken afterwards. Chris Rock is not that good an actor.

This is going to be a really overwhelming and boring two weeks of discourse. Utterly predictable shit will be said.

Ftr, of course the joke was horrible. It doesn't mean you get to slap someone. And it certainly doesn't mean you get to blame your violence on "love," which is an upsetting excuse.

Either way, I agree it’s a horrible joke.

I thought it was staged until he started shouting and swearing afterwards. That looked pretty real.

Genuine question. Why would they set that up?

A nasty joke against a woman with alopecia; a violent response; a ruined presentation; upset people; profanities (that do not go down particularly well in the US).

Will Smith could face calls to lose his Oscar over this.

Really weird ‘joke’. I don’t get it.

Yeah.. That looked pretty real to me, I thought it was fake at first as you hear a thunk like an actor faking contact and actually hitting his own mic, but watched back on slow.. its his hand contacting Chris's mic.

I think it took a moment for it to filter through what Chris had said.. then look at his wife, she's not happy.. then lose control and go slap Chris.

Frankly.. I hope it wasn't cos someone's needed to slap Rock for some time now.

@LaCerbiatta

OMG 100% a joke!!!

Sorry, after seeing all the edited out clips, looks like it really happened. Can't believe everyone was gushing over his 'love' speech....

I am also very, very uncomfortable with anyone having such a hair-trigger for violence. If that's what they do in front of everyone, at one of the most televised live events of the year...puts me on edge.

Perhaps it only happened because it was at one of the most televised live events of the year, among the hollywood elite and among their peers and someone decided to publicly ridicule his wife.

How embarrassing for everyone there. Will Smith was behaving like a child. Definitely not the time or place for it. He seemed to regret it by the time he returned to the stage.

They have definitely set up weird things like this in the past. And it really seems out of character for Will Smith to lose it like that. Also, Jada is badass and doesn’t need defending. Hollywood has a long history of low blows and jokes that sometimes go a bit too far.

These are the reasons my initial reaction was that it was set up. But certainly I’ve been wrong before.

This is going to be a really overwhelming and boring two weeks of discourse. Utterly predictable shit will be said.

I agree this will happen, @Nancydrawn. The Guardian is probably waking up its usual columnists for 500 words before breakfast. The Mail has Jan Moir on speed dial. Spiked magazine pundits will be frenetic. Nick Ferrari will ask Keir Starmer about it at 9am. And oh god, Lorraine Kelly …

What is predictable is MN minimising and overlooking Jada's hurt. The focus will be on violence which should be but shocking how black women are a fair game in comedy

If my husband hit someone who upset me about my alopecia, I'd be so proud of him. But we're not rich or famous, so just have to put up with the bullies. Utterly miserable condition, mockery from childhood onward which was ignored by teachers, disinterested doctors, damaged mental health and wellbeing.

Staged? I hope not. But even if it was, maybe it'll get people talking.

Horrible to watch it appeared very real.

Chris Rock isn’t funny, the joke wasn’t at all funny and was in pretty bad taste.
That said, imagine if we all went about assaulting people who offended us, well it’s obviously not acceptable, no matter how upset we are. That’s one of the first things we teach toddlers- we don’t hit.
IMO the only one who came out if this with flying colours was Denzel, but no surprise there.

I am not excusing the joke. It was a horrible joke. Yes, the Oscars have elements of a roast. Like the opening saying Timothee Chalamet looked ugly post-covid but they'd still smash it, or mocking LeBron's receding hairline, or Leo for having much younger girlfriends.

But I also very very much think the line should be drawn at disability. I found the joke tasteless and cruel.

The slap was still not okay.

I really like Will Smith, and I'm sorry his win was overshadowed by this moment, of his own making or not.

Horrible joke coupled with utterly horrible violent assault

I think it was real. The joke was appalling and the response was appalling. Would’ve been better to walk out. Interesting that he laughed and then suddenly switched to violent anger when he saw Jade’s face.

@unname

They have definitely set up weird things like this in the past. And it really seems out of character for Will Smith to lose it like that. Also, Jada is badass and doesn’t need defending. Hollywood has a long history of low blows and jokes that sometimes go a bit too far.

These are the reasons my initial reaction was that it was set up. But certainly I’ve been wrong before.

What would have been the aim of it though? It was really, really hard, Chris Rock was visibly stunned, Will Smith's shouting afterwards Inc swearing was further aggression too.

I feel really disappointed as I've always really liked him.

I'm surprised he was still there to accept it as I thought after he did that the production team / even his own management would have removed him.

It was an undeniable assault that was filmed so can't be denied. I wonder if Chris Rock would pursue legal action. My instinct is not but that's based on absolutely nothing really!

Really shocked that Will Smith lost control so quickly and so aggressively. His publicists will be carving out a statement right now as his acceptance speech was all about defending, not taking accountability and saying he was absolutely wrong. That's what the statement will say.