Comedians often offend someone as part of their jokes so aibu to wonder if what Chris Rock said was actually that bad ?

[MisterRee]

Sort of playing devils advocate here, I’m a woman and I would feel humiliated if someone took the piss out of me on any stage let alone a world stage.
However, comedians are hired and/ or sold out because someone, somewhere finds them funny. Ricky Gervais roasted people much worse at BAFTAs etc.
Think of all the successful comedians, they probably don’t actually think the things they say… they do it because it is their job to do.

Maybe we should be angry at the Academy for booking comedians to present awards?

Aibu to think that the joke wasn’t too offensive compared to other comedic acts I’ve seen in the past?

Prepared to be in the wrong, just got me thinking

I’m coming round to the possibility that he didn’t know about her alopecia. After the slap, he said to Smith ‘it was a joke about GI Jane!’ which kind of indicates he was completely mystified as to the reaction.

There is an absolutely huge difference to the level of his culpability in this, depending on whether he knew or not.

Why does a comedian have to host these shows anyway. Hosting is just introducing people and doesn’t require the telling of jokes. It just needs the link between one award and the next.

Chris Rock was a fool, Will Smith was a thug and the whole thing reflects badly on the Oscars. Jada rolled her eyes. It would have been better left at that, with perhaps telling him he was out of order at a time when they were out of the public eye.

There is a huge difference between banter and cruelty.
He was cruel.

@MisterRee male pattern baldness is not the same. Alopecia can be a crushing illness. I lost all my hair when I was 16, as you can imagine my confidence plummeted and at times I was suicidal. It is not normal for women to be bald in our society and we are bullied, made the butt of jokes and feel like complete outsiders. Recently a 12 year old girl called Rio committed suicide because of the bullying she received because of Alopecia Areata. She died for someone else’s fun.
The joke was not ok on any level, but neither was the slap. Alopecia UK released a beautiful alternate response Will could have used his platform to present.
My confidence has never returned and I am certainly not as brave as Jada to go out without my wig.
At least Alopecia has been thrust into the spotlight.

I think there is a difference between between a joke about generalisations and stereotypes not aimed at a particular person and a joke directed at a person at their expense. The only generally accepted caveat to that is a heckler and those who sit in the front row of a comedians show they have paid to attend. In this case she was there supporting her husband for an award and I don’t think that should open you up to personal jokes. I agree that this is partly due to a comedian presenting awards but there is usually an etiquette to not offending people that I think was missed and she felt attacked. I think it was very poorly thought through.

I thought Jada looked fantastic, and I also thought Demi Moore looked fantastic in GI Jane, so am I alone in thinking that CR was paying a very badly received compliment?

I think there is an assumption from some people that thrive on celeb gossip that everyone must know that Jada has alopecia whereas most of us wouldn't have a clue, looking at her it looks like a number 1 cut. It doesn't seem like CR and the Smiths are friends why would he have known? I think it's quite plausible that he saw he with a shaved head and thought she chose to shave her head. JPS has had all kinds of haircuts, in fact I just googled her and saw an article about her debuting her new 'buzz cut' where it doesn't mention alopecia at all and says that JPS said 'it was time to let go."
"My 50s are bout to be divinely lit with this shed"

I suppose what I am saying is I'm not sure where this assumption that he even knew he was making a joke about alopecia rather than a joke about a hair cut has come from?

@Usinlimbo

I thought Jada looked fantastic, and I also thought Demi Moore looked fantastic in GI Jane, so am I alone in thinking that CR was paying a very badly received compliment?

I agree. Both Demi and Jada rock the shaved head

I had alopecia in my 20's. It sucks and it chips away at your confidence. I would have found the joke funny. I actually would have taken it as a compliment. Demi was beautiful, strong and feminine in GI Jane.

HUGE overreaction in my opinion.

My main objection is that it was offensive and also not clever or funny in any way

Jokes about alopecia generally are ok with me . Direct pisstaking of an audience member for something they can help.eg. what they are wearing, saying, even being fat are mostly ok with me ( and I hate fat jokes personally).

Drawing attention to a disability in a specific person with the specific aim of just laughing at them for that disability with no clever punchline or unexpected take on it is not ok and is really lazy 'joking' and just another word for bullying

The joke was humiliating to her because that mocked her personally at such an iconic event and the audience were laughing. A joke in very poor taste. However, the slap is completely inexcusable. It just isn't okay to completely lose your temper because "love does funny things to you". He should be ashamed of himself for the violence.

@MisterRee

My partner has male pattern baldness and said that men being bald has been the butt of jokes since he can remember.

That’s different though. Jokes about men being bald are generic and are not targeting one individual. The joke Chris Rock was making was specific. It was aimed at one person, in front of that person and with an audience of millions!

While Will Smith shouldn’t have hit Chris Rock, but I don’t blame him doing so. He was sticking up for his wife! Chris Rock is scum, picking on one person and making fun of her like this. If that’s the only way he can get laughs, he is a very poor comedian! It must be hard enough for Jada to cope with this medical issue, without being the butt of so called jokes like this! Rock should never be allowed to present another show.

Imagine if someone's wife had gained some weight and the comedian had said "and there's mary, looking forward to seeing her in She Hulk"

What part of what Chris Rock said about Jada was 'the joke'? It wasn't a joke he was singling out a woman and commenting on her appearance in front of an audience of millions, why?

As a joke, it wasn’t very funny, unless he knew in advance that the target would have found it amusing. Regardless, getting up to whack Rock was wrong.

I do think there is an undertone of nastiness to many of these US awards programmes. Remember Gervais being an arse to Justin Bieber several years back

@LucyLocketLostThePlot

It was a poorly judged joke.

Will Smith's reaction was terrible though. Total loss of control. I think he must have been high/drunk to have reacted like that.

He must be so embarrassed in the cold light of day.

100% agree. And thanks, saved me typing it out :)

Poor male behaviour, the derogatory comment and the slap. Jada and the children had to sit there and take it in. I feel sorry for them.

I personally think anything medical in any way should be off limits to a decent funny comedian. They should be entertaining enough to make clever funny jokes not shitty pot shots at others who are struggling.
In that incident Jada has publicly shared her personal struggles with her condition so why you would choose to target it in those circumstances is inexcusable.

Get balls deep in my wife, no problem. Make a tame joke about my wife, I will actually laugh then I’ll slap yo ass, verbally abuse you and then claim “ love makes you do crazy things”
I’m sure we shall hear about Will going to some rehab and at some point he will sit on Oprah’s sofa and talk a lot of bollocks. He’s a complete twat.

I just don’t understand threads like this and the lack of empathy. Jada was apparently deeply upset , she refused to pose for pics after with her and what the video doesn’t show, as it cut to Chris Rock is jada said something to will which prompted him.

I know someone who had alopecia, and it can be the most devastating thing, loosing your hair, your eyebrows, your lashes, your changed appearance and give rise to huge self consciousness. Will has probably watched that devastation in private.

I think what Chris rock did was appalling to pick on a woman’s appearance becayse of her medical condition and if it had been done to my friend, rightly or wrongly I’d have been tempted to slap the person who did it. I’d have refrained but I’d defintely have ripped them a new one.

The only person coming out of this with any dignity is Jada.
She looked amazing and her eye roll response was spot on. CR was not remotely funny, just crap.
Again it was not funny.
I’ve seen many brilliant comedians, most of whom do not conduct themselves in the manner CR did.
I’m not interested in the Oscars one bit, only seen this clip which was quite frankly bizarre and surreal.
Perhaps they should revert back to either:
A host who is genuinely funny
Or
A proper presenting host, not a comedian.
And seriously get some security.

It was mean spirited and spiteful.

I'm actually amazed it hasn't happened to more of the so called comedians around at the moment. Most of them are deeply unfunny and I think we'll look back at modern "comedy" in the future and wonder why society tolerated it.

I dislike comedians who's entire act is at the expense of somone else. Jimmy Carr is an example of this sort of comedian and honestly they're just assholes with a stage.

While I agree that Chris roack was out of line I dont think will Smith's reaction was appropiate

From what I'm reading, Chris Rock wasn't aware Jada had alopecia and made a joke about her hair cut. He does appear to be genuinely confused about Will's reaction.

If he didn't know about the alopecia, the comment is entirely different. He didn't criticise her appearance.

I think Will Smith expects jokes about his open relationship and his wife having a thing with a much younger man but perhaps he felt he ought to 'stand up for her' and in a weird way that means assaulting someone else.

Rubbish 'joke' but Will Smith laughed at it to start with, perhaps he then felt guilty for laughing and overreacted.