Will Smith/Chris Rock Oscars - where do you stand?

[Jaggerdagger]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-60898250

I'm a bit on the fence at the moment but shocked from watching this - wondered what others think?

YABU Will Smith had every right to wallop Chris. His wife was clearly deeply insulted. He deserved it.
YANBU Chris was just reading from a script and didn't deserve such a public assault.

Whether it was scripted or not , Chris Rock could have adlibbed his way around the "joke"
I think there's a fair bit of history between them , and not in a good way. You're right , the slap wasn't a good idea but the whole thing, insult included , was being broadcast world wide and Will Smith maybe had just reached his limit.

@TooManyPJs

I think there's a lot worse things people can do than slap someone. Such as bully people for a health condition on stage in front of millions of people. I don't think Will Smith has covered himself in glory here. But what Chris Rock did is far worse.

I mean, no not really

@southeastdweller

And extreme situations do bring out extreme behaviour. This is not like some bloke down the pub insulting your spouse, where you might just be expected to say, ' You are a wanker mate' and leave. This is someone who is your peer, getting all your peers to laugh, in front of a world audience of millions, at a condition that causes you partner distress, at an event - hyper focussed on physical perfection - which must exacerbate feelings of your partner around that condition.

You are making excuses for this inexcusable behaviour. Would you be so quick to defend him if he’d assaulted a woman in the same ‘extreme situation’?

I don't take the position that all violent behaviour is the same, no. I do think there is a need to differentiate and react differently to different circumstances.

I don't think a man slapping a man who is of the same size and strength as him is the same as a man slapping a woman who is smaller and weaker than him, for example.

Anyway, comedians should be over commenting on womens bodies and appearances now.

I would change that to be ANYBODY's appearance. agreed, although I said women as our appearance is all we are to some men.

I hope he is prosecuted - not to do so sends a really bad message

They were both wrong but I have more of an issue with Chris than Will. Chris made a very hurtful remark (I don't believe in calling this type of bullying a joke) about Jada to the whole freaking world. He made sure that everybody now knows that she has alopecia. I strongly condemn his bullying remark. His remark was a way to try to take away her dignity and self respect. It was awful.

Will embarrassed himself. Not somebody else.

Do women still need their man to do that? I’m sure she was capable of reacting but decided not to at that point. He took that decision out of her hands and has brought more attention on her by doing so.

@TheDoveFromAboveCooCoo

It's not ok. Resorting to physical violence is never ok in any situation unless you are being physically assaulted yourself.

I think this will have a massive impact on his career.

Also if this is how he behaves knowing it's being broadcast across the world then how the fuck does he behave behind closed doors??

Pretty sure it will have fuck all impact on his career

I think it was entirely justifiable for Will Smith to be angered by Chris Rock’s comments.

However, quite aside from the morality of it, it just such an unbelievably stupid thing thing for Smith to do that I can only imagine there is a lot more going on for him. That nothing inside him made him think “whoah, stop!” is quite worrying.

@jytdtysrht, CR doesn't want to press charges, that still stands in states in the US.

@southeastdweller, he didn't assault a woman, so no need to go down that route.

I think that he should have destroyed him, verbally. Disability/medical conditions should be off limits on the world stage. I'd call his reaction human. I don't like how sanitised some people want the world to be. That doesn't fit well with human nature. I like the idea of crimes of passion.

IHRTFT so this may have been said, but few institutions last forever and I think the Oscars have had their day. Certainly viewing figures decrease each year - presumably because most people have had enough of this self obsessed naval gazing.
Maybe in future they could take place behind closed doors.

A man incapable of managing his emotions steals all the limelight from the other Oscar winners, including first female director. His toxic attitude then wins him a standing ovation! Unbelievable.

@TooManyPJs

I think there's a lot worse things people can do than slap someone. Such as bully people for a health condition on stage in front of millions of people. I don't think Will Smith has covered himself in glory here. But what Chris Rock did is far worse.

It really wasn't.

@moonbedazzled

I don't know what's going on with Will Smith recently. I used to love him. He made great films and he was always so lovely in interviews. But ever since his wife decided to bump her career by discussing their private life and their sex life on Red Table Talk, I think the man has become a shell of himself. He's gone from being one of my favourite people to a WTF?! person. I never knew anything about Java Pinkett Smith and what I know about her now, I don't like. But the woman has not shaved her hair for fun. She has alopecia which is devastating. Chris Rock should not have said anything but it wasn't anything awful. Just that she looked I've a GI. Will Smith assaulted him and then later cried about it. I think there's something seriously wrong going on with him.

There definitely is something wrong with him. He has been in a state of more or less permanent mental health crisis since around the time of the Red Table Talk. He's in an abusive relationship and is either too proud, or too fragile (or both) to do anything about it.

He shouldn't have hit Chris Rock, but what we saw was a man having a mental health breakdown. I think he's probably way more of a victim here than many people are going to be able to wrap their heads around.

Other than self defence I don’t think violence is ever justified but I might be more understanding if it were a spur of the moment thing.. the fact that he got up out of his seat, left the aisle, walked to the stage, up the stairs etc .. all with the eyes of the world on him and plenty of time to think “what the fuck am I doing?!” I find completely perplexing. Does he have an anger problem or had he maybe decided that punching Chris Rock was a good idea career wise? - I mean, it might have been.. we’re all talking about it.

I think they are both wrong. Chris Rock is a twat and Will and Jada just seem so desperate and sad and broken. Chris Rock needs to stfu and Will and Jada should take some time off their public schedule!

@Loopytiles

Your Qs are silly: the joke was shit, the violence was shit.

Spot on!

[quote Ponoka7]@jytdtysrht, CR doesn't want to press charges, that still stands in states in the US.

@southeastdweller, he didn't assault a woman, so no need to go down that route.

I think that he should have destroyed him, verbally. Disability/medical conditions should be off limits on the world stage. I'd call his reaction human. I don't like how sanitised some people want the world to be. That doesn't fit well with human nature. I like the idea of crimes of passion.[/quote]
I am going down that route because of all the apologists on here, including you, justifying violence. Violence can never be justified, in my view. That you can say you like the idea of 'crimes of passion' is sickening.

The whole thing was outrageous and I feel very sorry for Jada.

One thought I have on this is that if it was a white couple, with the lady having lost her hair, this joke would have never been made. Black women are seen as fair game to be the butt of jokes unlike white women who must be defended at all costs.

If that had been Jennifer Garner or Kristen Bell or someone sat there. It would never have been said - regardless of whether the comedian is white or black. And if it had there would have been huge backlash for such a mean spirited joke.

Regardless it doesn't justify Will's response. But perhaps some more context as to why it can be more frustrating for Black celebs in Hollywood.

He shouldn't have hit Chris Rock, but what we saw was a man having a mental health breakdown. I think he's probably way more of a victim here than many people are going to be able to wrap their heads around.

I agree with this.

This was Will Smiths "Britney" moment. His marriage and family life has been under scrutiny for years. Add to that the fact he was finally receiving the award he has been desperately coveting for years and all the pressures surrounding it - I think WS has a large ego and CR's comments were just too much to take - possibly he was inebriated also.

It was just really terrible and shocking behaviour. He was crying because he knew full well he'd made an arse of himself on what should've been his night of glory.

@thewhatsit

Other than self defence I don’t think violence is ever justified but I might be more understanding if it were a spur of the moment thing.. the fact that he got up out of his seat, left the aisle, walked to the stage, up the stairs etc .. all with the eyes of the world on him and plenty of time to think “what the fuck am I doing?!” I find completely perplexing. Does he have an anger problem or had he maybe decided that punching Chris Rock was a good idea career wise? - I mean, it might have been.. we’re all talking about it.

Apart from already being rich and succesfull, for months he'd been the favourite to win the Oscar so why would he think assaulting someone would be a good career move?

@PutinIsAWarCriminal

I hate this type of bullying banter. Good for Will, I say. Violence is crap, but so is joking to a woman's face in front of the whole world about a devastating medical condition that affects her appearance.

This. I had alopecia a few years ago and only recently started to get some hair back. It's a horrible condition , and to make fun of her in front of the audience and the millions of tv viewers, was a low act. If he did that to me I'd be happy for my husband to smack him in the chops .

I think Will Smith suddenly felt the entire emasculation of his wife's Table Talk episodes about how Tupac Shaker is the love of her live (even though he's been dead years) and ran off with an 18 year old hottie. Yes, he's probably had affairs, but in the eyes of the world, he's been emasculated. Hence why he initially laughed, then when he saw her face, went up and slapped/punched CR.

For whatever reason unknown to the rest of us, Will is still besotted in an unhealthy way with Jada whatever she does, has put up with quite humiliating behaviour, and someone shone a light on it and he reacted.

It's unclear why she has this hold on him and why he had to prove himself to her at that moment, but he did.

He's very cross and angry IMO that his weakness (her) was exposed and this put him on the defensive.

I'm sure he has temper problems if he just does that, 99% of people would have said something, most would not have punched.

“I'd call his reaction human. I don't like how sanitised some people want the world to be. That doesn't fit well with human nature. I like the idea of crimes of passion.“

REALLY???

I think most domestic violence would be described by the perpetrator as a “crime of passion”

Do you agree with that?? How screwed up.