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Original poster

Will Smith punches Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars.

999 replies

CheeseMuffin · 28/03/2022 04:10

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

OP posts:
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5
NdefH81 · 28/03/2022 07:01

@HumousWhereTheHeartIs

In work in tv. Had this been staged, there would have been a camera on Jada Pinkett-Smith getting her reaction and Will would have been mic'd up.
That would have been very poor PR

It had to look authentic for them to pull it off

MrsLargeEmbodied · 28/03/2022 07:01

Chris Rock deserved it

HumousWhereTheHeartIs · 28/03/2022 07:02

@NdefH81 Good publicity for The Oscars and even Chris Rock who handled it not badly - awful for Will Smith

NameGoesHere · 28/03/2022 07:02

Just seen uncensored footage from a Japanese network … it was not staged. The vitriol, anger and hate from will was real. He needs…and I hate this term…. To be cancelled.

jungledoc · 28/03/2022 07:02

This is brilliant PR

Not for Will Smith

ZoyaTheDestroyer · 28/03/2022 07:02

@Habitatty282

The thing about the joke, he compared her to GI Jane, an absolutely gorgeous, strong, incredible woman. Demi Moore was iconic in that role, so beautiful. Jada could have taken that as a compliment, said 'thankyou' and stroked her head or something like that, empowered all the women out there with alopecia. I have disabilities and the best thing you can do is laugh about them. It was a pretty tame joke.
So in this whole incident you feel that the real problem is how the woman who was being mocked reacted?
phishy · 28/03/2022 07:03

I seriously wonder about the judgement of those upthread who couldn’t see this was real.

Lavenderlid · 28/03/2022 07:03

Chris rock was out of line
Will Smith is out of line.
The disrespected person hear is Jada Pinket
I agree with this. What has surprised me is how positively I felt about WS slapping him, when I first saw it. How many nasty little jokes does a comedian like that get away with? If her hair style was for fashion fair enough - but because of a medical (and exacerbated by stress) condition? Twat.

AngeloMysterioso · 28/03/2022 07:05

Interesting that he laughed and then suddenly switched to violent anger when he saw Jade’s face.

I think this is a big part of it. He was laughing along initially and then he saw how hurt Jada was, felt like a dick, probably knew he looked like a dick as well for laughing at a cruel joke made at his wife’s expense and so made a big show of defending her and took it way, way too far. He’s also done black men a huge disservice with his actions, especially since people have always thought of him as such a great guy.

LetHimHaveIt · 28/03/2022 07:06

@phishy

I seriously wonder about the judgement of those upthread who couldn’t see this was real.
Me too. I hope they're never on a fucking jury.
phishy · 28/03/2022 07:07

@Habitatty282

The thing about the joke, he compared her to GI Jane, an absolutely gorgeous, strong, incredible woman. Demi Moore was iconic in that role, so beautiful. Jada could have taken that as a compliment, said 'thankyou' and stroked her head or something like that, empowered all the women out there with alopecia. I have disabilities and the best thing you can do is laugh about them. It was a pretty tame joke.
He’s not comparing her to GI Jane, he’s making fun of her baldness.

And your comment that ‘I have disabilities’ seems to be a get out clause like ‘I have black friends’.

You have found a woman to blame though for male aggression, so well done.

WhatsTheEffingPoint · 28/03/2022 07:08

Comedy is always subjective.
With all that is known about the Smiths personal lives the gag could have been much worse.
Whilst CR joke was in poor taste, WS laughed until he saw JPS eye roll, then he overreacted. Slaping someone on live TV is assault, just because he's a 'cleb' does not excuse that.
You can see CR looking around, officials should have been on that stage dealing with WS.
As a Ginger I have had to put up with jokes about my hair for as long as I can remember, I don't go around slapping every person that's ever said something as its not acceptable.

WS has just overshadowed his Oscar win by being a prat.

On a side note, how many people are going to be wanting to speak to Lupita now as she was sat right by them? She looked so awkward when the camera was on WS whilst he was swearing.

AngeloMysterioso · 28/03/2022 07:09

Also can people please stop referring to hair loss as a disability? I’ve had a hair loss condition since I was a young teenager… it’s absolutely shit, yes, but it is NOT a disability.

onthinice · 28/03/2022 07:09

All these people saying well done to Will and they would be proud of their husband's if they did that : obviously never been in that situation and felt the horror, embarrassment and had to deal with the aftermath of a seething, angry husband that has just committed a violent act (not self defense!) in "your honour".

I love Will Smith but I am so disappointed and shocked that he did this.

Dita73 · 28/03/2022 07:09

@Habitatty282 no I disagree. He was defending his wife. It’s not the first time Chris Rock has made fun of Jada. He hosted the Oscars a few years ago and it was the year when a lot of actors were boycotting the ceremony because of the lack of diversity. Jada and Will were two of them. Chris Rock did his opening monologue and addressed the boycott but when he did this he singled out Jada. He said something along the lines of her not being invited anyway and everyone had a good laugh at her expense. So there’s a bit of history there anyway but to go for her appearance is incredibly insensitive. She was clearly very upset and Will wasn’t going to let him get away with it

Hopingforabagofbuttons · 28/03/2022 07:10

I don't for a minute think you're in PR, unless it's in the same way my next-door-neighbour who does the Facebook page for her dad's handyman business and her own MLM bollocks, thinks she's 'in marketing'.

@LetHimHaveIt 😂😂😂. Classic

unname · 28/03/2022 07:10

@HumousWhereTheHeartIs

It was definitely not staged. The LAPD and the Academy have issued statements. I think this could be the end of Will Smith's career. He is clearly very angry, violent and arrogant.
LAPD simply said they were aware of the incident and that Chris Rock declined to press charges.

The academy said they don’t condone violence and congratulated the winners.

HallucinatingHilda · 28/03/2022 07:11

If this was in Relationships, the wisdom would say, when a man shows you who he is, believe him.

His acceptance speech just confirms that he has almost messianic tendancies - "I feel I have been called by God".. so God would approve? You've a red phone to the man upstairs?

If you go back to his incredibly revealing chat with Graham Norton, his whole purpose in life is to be famous. To be the most known, and the most important.

He probably felt humiliated when he saw that whilst he was laughing, Jada wasn't, and this was how he dealt with it.

I don't care if he was high. I don't care how low the MC goes with the roasting, this is not a man protecting his family. This is not a man defending his wife's honour.

This is a man showing you who he is. Believe him.

Sh1vers · 28/03/2022 07:12

This poor woman.
The majority of the audience would not have understood that “joke” and it would have faded into obscurity in no time, but now the whole world is discussing her condition, as well as the quality of their marriage again.
I can’t see anyone defending anyone in this situation: WS acted in his usual self serving fashion and only escalated the situation to play the “hero”. I hope he gets banned from award events going forward for this public loss of control. Despicable.

HumousWhereTheHeartIs · 28/03/2022 07:12

@unname Exactly. Neither of these statements would have been released had the incident been part of the show.

NameGoesHere · 28/03/2022 07:13

If Will can behave like that in front of all those people and being filmed, goodness knows how he reacts behind closed doors.

Westfacing · 28/03/2022 07:13

A terrible display of uncontrolled violence, for all the world to see, and then to tearfully claim it was for love!

He would not have attacked a white comedian.

clpsmum · 28/03/2022 07:14

Omfg wish he didn't win the Oscar! What a prick

Dita73 · 28/03/2022 07:14

@Westfacing that is a ridiculous and racist comment

rabbitwoman · 28/03/2022 07:14

@onthinice

All these people saying well done to Will and they would be proud of their husband's if they did that : obviously never been in that situation and felt the horror, embarrassment and had to deal with the aftermath of a seething, angry husband that has just committed a violent act (not self defense!) in "your honour".

I love Will Smith but I am so disappointed and shocked that he did this.

Exactly.

I have been in that situation. They certainly weren't doing it for me because I was begging them to walk away. It certainly wasn't because they loved me because I was telling them 'please don't do this, you are humiliating me, please walk away.'

This is male posturing. This is when a man sees a 'woman' as his property, and equates an insult to her as an insult to him personally.

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