@cheekyduck
TerriblyStill
I'm appalled by Will Smith's behaviour. He's a role model to many young, black men. He's just modelled the behaviour that if someone insults you/your 'possession'/wife then it's justified to respond with violence.
I read earlier that black member of the academy board said he was sickened by Will's conforming to the stereotype of 'violent black man' and that Will had damaged the efforts to have this stereotype written off as racist and outdated.
Chris Rock's joke was an absolute pile of shite and Jada/Will could so easily and effectively shamed him for it afterwards but now he's a victim of violent crime .
I too am shocked at the amount of apologists for Will Smith's behaviour and completely agree with those who say if he is willing to physically assault and verbally abuse someone with the eyes of millions upon millions of people on him, what on earth would he do at home behind closed doors.
The whole thing is sickening and has completely taken over the celebration of actors/directors/composers at the top of their game. I'd love to think it would spell the end of his career but we know that violent men continue to succeed as they always have. It's like we've made no progress at all.
Here's a newsflash.
Most black boys don't hold Will Smith as a role model, they get their values from their home, like everyone else.
Your own outrage says more about you being threatened by a black man, than it does about the actual incident,
When you type, has completely taken over the celebration of actors/directors/composers at the top of their game. I'd love to think it would spell the end of his career for one fucking incident, says it all @TerriblyStill
Absolutely agree that most young black men get their role models from home - as they should - but in a profession where black actors have taken a long time to come to the fore, Will Smith is one of the most successful and people admire him for that. To dismiss his influence is naive. My outrage is not because he’s a black man but because he’s a man, a high profile man who has physically assaulted another man because he didn’t like what he said about his wife. It’s utterly pathetic and the sort of behaviour you’d expect between two drunken idiots at the pub.
I mentioned race after reading the comment of the black academy member but those who say that I wouldn’t have said the same about a white man representing all white men is right and I’m going to check myself on that. I think that because there are far fewer highly successful black actors than white, they carrier a heavier burden in terms of representation but that’s not right or fair.
I don’t know if I find black men more threatening any more than I do white. I feel the same way about Will Smith now as I do about Jeremy Clarkson or Boy George, other violent public figures whose transgressions have not harmed their careers one jot. As violence not being acceptable is one of the fundamental principles of our society I do think that his punishment should be more far reaching than having to write a grovelling apology on twitter. I don’t think violent men should maintain leading roles in our entertainment but they do and will always continue to which is a dire situation IMO.