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

@Butteryflakycrust83

I think as a white woman, this isn't my conversation to be having. Let black people lead and set the narrative here. Its not up to decide.

Check out black feminists such as Sonya Renee Taylor who explains it so well.

Why? This particular incident had nothing to do with her skin colour, this was about her medical condition which is one which can effect anyone.

I don’t think trying to change the narrative will help anything.

john knobface bishop once did a thing taking the piss out of 5 year olds who were patched. it seemed to go on for EVER.

so i wrote to him and explained patching to him and told him that taking the piss out of a 5 year olds vision isn't funny (patching was happening at home at that moment)

he never wrote back and he still thinks he's funny.

i have no opinion on will smith as i can't bear chris rock so i would be the opposite of impartial.

It’s a medical condition she has so, I think it should never have been said. If it was a tabloid newspaper that it said people would be up in arms.

We have no idea how Jada deals with this, she could be suffering terrible mental health with this, I know my mum did when she had alopecia. The Oscars could have been a big step for her going out, who knows.
Think Will Smith handled it badly.

@CooooCoooo

I swear some of you think she's lost all her hair or something? Jada isn't bald because she has alopecia. In her own words, she's bald because:

1 - her daughter made her do it. (Daughter is also bald)
2 - it's spiritual.
3 - she joked her hairline had moved back due to age.

Not once has she said she's bald due to alopecia. Yes, she has said she has alopecia but considering the evidence - she shows no sign of alopecia areata (round bald spots), she actually has a full head of hair (watch her shaving videos), and she's spoken specifically about her hairline - then it's very likely she's suffering from traction alopecia which is caused by strain on the hair follicles from tights braids, wigs, extensions etc. I have the same from years of extensions (haven't shaved my head though). Traction alopecia is not an illness nor an autoimmune condition. Saying Chris Rock picked on someone with a illness is unfair. I'm sure CR didn't even know about the hair loss as a shaved head has been a trendy hairstyle since 2017. So many women in Hollywood have shaved their heads over the years and I bet every single one of them heard the tired G I Jane joke more times than they could count - it's an iconic look.

CR could've got personal and joked about anything - her sleeping with her son's friends, open relationship, entanglements etc, but he chose the most vanilla joke/mundane observation - she looks like Demi Moore in G I Jane. Which she does - she would actually make a bloody good GI Jane which I'd watch in a heartbeat.

This woman is proudly bald by choice and I'm actually inclined to think the real reason she rolled her eyes was because she doesn't like Chris Rock after making jokes about her boycotting the Oscars in 2016. But between the slap and Will Smith's apology, the narrative was set that she has a medical condition so pr is going with it.

I think everyone needs to read this post.

Shit joke and rude but has been blown way out of proportion.

The thing is Jada looks stunning. She could wear a wig, but she doesn't need to. Many black women have very short hair. I think she should of been able to take a joke. Will Smith laughed at it. Then she was stoney faced. Yes maybe there is history, but I think you should be able to laugh at yourself.

Demi Moore looks amazing as GI Jane and Jada looks amazing too. Most people would look like a potato with eyes, I know I would but they both look great. I think it's more of a compliment than anything really, Chris Rock himself said 'it was a nice one' or something like that I think.
I think Jada just has a problem with him because she boycotted the Oscars in 2016 as a protest and he joked that she hadn't done anything so probably wasn't even invited. I'm not a fan but this is the sort of joke he does I assume - the whole roasting thing which I'm not keen on anyway - but for Will Smith to go up and slap him was ridiculous. Especially as he laughed until he saw Jada's face.

Everything I've read though has said it's alopacia areata, not traction, if you google search it - is there a link to where she's said it's traction?

@LethargeMarg

Jimmy Carr says far worse in his stand up and doesn't get punched or slapped for it

Shame that!

Nasty bastard!

@MisterRee

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

Doesn't mean it should be

@greenmeansNogo

The thing is Jada looks stunning. She could wear a wig, but she doesn't need to. Many black women have very short hair. I think she should of been able to take a joke. Will Smith laughed at it. Then she was stoney faced. Yes maybe there is history, but I think you should be able to laugh at yourself.

Because you think she looks stunning, doesn't mean she not extremely self conscious abs would love a head full of hair?

What are you self conscious about? Your weight, your nose?

Let me know and I'll take the piss and then say "take a joke"!

"Whether Will Smith laughed is neither here nor there. (Apart from making him look even more of an arssehole). It is about Rock making a named personal comment about a woman with a medical condition."

I think Will laughing is completely here and there. In fact it could be the reason for his 180 into over reaction. He laughs (because he doesn't consider how his wife would feel about the comment) then realises his wife wasn't impressed, and his laughter isn't fitting to family man carefully crafted good guy persona so over compensated "defending" his wife.

Wouldn't be suprised if it was all fueled by coke.

I have alopecia - a relatively slow but scarring type, which means the 2 inches plus of hairline I have already lost, in approx 6 years, will never grow back. Women are judged very strongly on their looks and hair. It is a devastating condition. To be publicly made fun of for this is not OK. I think they need to rethink using comedians if they can't be funny without causing harm in this way. (I don't condone the violence however).

I’m not convinced that he didn’t know about her condition.
The Oscars are heavily scripted and vetted. The academy has made it clear that this was not part of the script. It would be interesting to know how many other unscripted ‘jokes’ he made. I don’t think there would have been time for many.
It’s also upsetting that Jadas feelings are being dismissed by some posters. We all know some stunning looking people who are self conscious about a physical feature. She was clearly upset and she was the target. I hope she is ok

Why was what Chris Rock said so offensive [to those who have said it is]? He said he is looking forward to the new GI Jane movie - in reference to Jada's buzzcut [which she was rocking by the way]. It wasn't like he said something mocking about alopecia or called her 'baldy'. Violence is never the answer to hurt feelings and I was utterly shocked at the level of aggression displayed by WS.

@SeaWitchly

Why was what Chris Rock said so offensive [to those who have said it is]? He said he is looking forward to the new GI Jane movie - in reference to Jada's buzzcut [which she was rocking by the way]. It wasn't like he said something mocking about alopecia or called her 'baldy'. Violence is never the answer to hurt feelings and I was utterly shocked at the level of aggression displayed by WS.

This is what I don't understand? It was a shit joke about her buzzcut. Jada herself had the most appropriate response, she just rolled her eyes. Where people are getting she was very upset from I don't know? She hasn't said anything and all we have to go by is an eye roll?

I don't understand either why people are so convinced that a man in his late 50s is keeping up with the reasons a b list celeb has a buzz cut? JPS is hardly at her husbands level of fame.

People are running away with it and putting their own spin on it when really all we saw was a shit joke about a haircut, JPS rolling her eyes while WS laughed, then WS slapping and swearing.

WS is a tool and was out of order to slap a man. Chris Rock would have been within his rights to defend himself from the attack.

It was a very personal joke. I did not get it at all, until I looked it up.
Regardless of the joke, Will Smith was out of order to retaliate with a slap. He was laughing at the joke initially.

@LethargeMarg

Jimmy Carr says far worse in his stand up and doesn't get punched or slapped for it

@LethargeMarg I think maybe you don't know the background.

Her head’s shaved - it’s not obvious to most of us that she has alopecia and it’s hardly holding her back given she was sat in the front row of the Oscars looking magnificent. The joke wasn’t a negative comparison - isn’t GI Jane an attractive character, and strong? The only thing that reaction did was give the impression that having a woman having bald head is something to be ashamed of and shouldn’t be mentioned. That’s on Will, not Chris. Whether there was more to that comment due to their history isn’t the viewer’s concern.

I thought the joke referring to their open marriage was far more close to the bone 🤷🏻‍♀️

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

Not the same thing at all.

These are worse jokes about Will and Jada, possibly the reason for the overreaction.

I don’t understand the double standard with the open marriage thing. ‘She’s controlling’, ‘she must’ve said something’ ‘she’s making a fool of him’ ‘get ball’s deep in my wife’ etc..

He has slept with other people too. Did you think only the husbands are allowed to sleep around in an open marriage?

Obviously it’s disgusting that she slept with someone barely legal who is friends with her kid. But that’s a completely different point to what people are saying about their marriage.

@herethereandeverywhere

I don't really consider an open handed slap to be the same as a punch or anything like that - it's meant to be an insult rather than harmful.

WTF?! I assume you'll be appearing on the stand as the expert witness for wife-beaters all over the country. Violence is not okay. Whatever shape his hand was formed into. FFS.

I think intent to harm and reasonable chance of causing harm is actually relevant. In most cases like this there is no intent to physical harm and a reasonable person would not expect physical harm to result.

So no, actually, I don't think it's the same as beating your wife, and I find it surprising that anyone thinks it's a good idea to argue that it is.

@Hadenoughofthisbullshit

These are worse jokes about Will and Jada, possibly the reason for the overreaction.

I don’t understand the double standard with the open marriage thing. ‘She’s controlling’, ‘she must’ve said something’ ‘she’s making a fool of him’ ‘get ball’s deep in my wife’ etc..

He has slept with other people too. Did you think only the husbands are allowed to sleep around in an open marriage?

Obviously it’s disgusting that she slept with someone barely legal who is friends with her kid. But that’s a completely different point to what people are saying about their marriage.

I think she's generally seen as the one who pushed for it, while WS was in fact not keen. No idea how true that is though.

"I think intent to harm and reasonable chance of causing harm is actually relevant. In most cases like this there is no intent to physical harm and a reasonable person would not expect physical harm to result.

So no, actually, I don't think it's the same as beating your wife, and I find it surprising that anyone thinks it's a good idea to argue that it is."

Wonderful defence you're setting up here. It was an open hand, therefore did not intend to harm. Case dismissed.

Text book case of minimising.

Striding towards someone and striking them in the face indicates very clear intent. Maybe that level of violence is normal, or minor to you - and to others. I am saying it is not and should not be.

There are comedians who do pick on minority groups to get a 'laugh' out of people and reinforce prejudice towards them.

If a comedian who wasn't Jewish, black, trans, gay - took the piss out of a minority group, they would no doubt get slammed by some people. Especially if it reinforced stereotypes.

Well - maybe. I think nowadays it depends on the minority group being slammed and having the piss taken out of them. Some people would just say that people are being sensitive, too woke and shouldn't take offence and it's 'free speech nowadays, you can't say anything'

Picking on a specific person for something they can't help - and they may be self conscious about. Not on.

Imagine if he took the piss out of someone with a speech impediment.

It doesn't stop some 'comedians' though