Will Smith

[WiseGirl]

Anyone have Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on the Oscar stage on their Bingo card? Academy said they don't condone violence but they didn't escort Smith out of the building and then he won the Oscar.

It's a shame because he took away from so many firsts and noteable wins. He could've handled it differently. 

https://people.com/movies/oscars-2022-will-smith-slaps-chris-rock-jada-pinkett-smith-hair-joke-gi-jane/

https://people.com/movies/how-will-smith-smacking-chris-rock-unfolded-at-oscars-2022/

[Mama Mia]

That was something. And then his acceptance speech was…..something. He’s looked broken for a bit. But…wow

[nausicaa]

1 hour ago, Mama Mia said:

That was something. And then his acceptance speech was…..something. He’s looked broken for a bit. But…wow

He's so completely out of line. And "love makes you do crazy things" is a terrible message to send and has long been used to excuse domestic violence. 

He needed to be immediately escorted from the building. 

[Sarcastically spinster]

As always, the patriarchy found the worst take on this possible.  

[EmmieJ]

I didn't watch the Oscars but I saw the story online and at first, I thought it couldn't be true.  Then I saw the uncensored clip of the whole thing and was shocked.  I agree that Chris Rock's joke was in poor taste and not funny, but there were so many other, better ways that Jada and Will Smith could have responded.  We tell our children that they should use words to resolve conflict, not fists - yet online, so many are praising Will Smith for defending his wife's honor (or something).  As a woman, I can understand how distressing hair loss would be.  But Jada seemed to have been putting a positive spin on it, shaving her head and saying she was "going to make friends" with her hair loss.  I can admire that positive perspective.  So if she's being positive about it, why would Will feel the need to not only get upset, but storm the stage and slap or punch Chris Rock in the face?  

Why do so many feel his violent outburst was okay?  Was it because it was directed at another black man?  What if Amy Schumer had made that joke and then Will Smith rushed the stage and slapped her across the face?  Would that be considered acceptable behavior?  Ricky Gervaise when he was host made many jokes that were outright offensive and yet no one came charging up and punched him in the face.  

I was also so disappointed in Bradley Cooper, Tyler Perry and Denzel Washington who all appeared to go comfort Will Smith.  Um, anyone spare a thought for Chris Rock, just to see if he was okay?  

And now Will Smith's Oscar win, his first (and possibly only Oscar win) will forever be connected to this pathetic, tantrum-like display.  What the hell has gone wrong with Will Smith, or was he always someone who had anger issues but kept it well hid?

[Anne Of Gray Gables]

Smith needs to be kicked out of the Academy. My understanding is that they say they have zero tolerance for violence, so let's hope they dump him and send a message.

I don't care how unkind the joke was.  They're just words. Even toddlers learn that. 

(My sister blames it all on Trump; she says we've lost all pretense of civility thanks to "leaders" like him.)

[mango_fandango]

I agree with you lot. Yeah the joke was harsh but violence is never, EVER ok. “Love makes you do crazy things” definitely makes it sound like he’s excusing domestic violence. 

[louisa05]

1 hour ago, mango_fandango said:

I agree with you lot. Yeah the joke was harsh but violence is never, EVER ok. “Love makes you do crazy things” definitely makes it sound like he’s excusing domestic violence. 

I’m wondering what he does behind closed doors if this is how he behaves in front of cameras. 

[47of74]

The Academy is going to do a review

Quote

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday condemned the actions of Will Smith during Sunday night’s Oscars and launched an inquiry into his slapping of presenter Chris Rock.

In a statement Monday, the film academy said: “The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standards of conduct and California law.”

The fallout from Smith’s onstage assault continued Monday, as Hollywood and the public continued to wrestle with a moment that stunned the Dolby Theatre crowd and viewers at home, and may have passed all others — even that gold-standard flub, EnvelopeGate — in Academy Awards infamy.

Smith stunned the Dolby Theatre crowd and viewers at home when he took the stage during Rock’s remarks after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith’s wife. Rock said, “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it.”

Whoppi Goldberg - who is on the board of governors - said the Academy wasn't going to take his Oscar back but there would be consequences.

I think Chris Rock was out of line making fun of Jada because she lost her hair due to a medical condition.  But it does not in any way excuse Smith's behavior.  No one came off looking all that good last night and Smith's win will be tainted by this.

[Anne Of Gray Gables]

3 hours ago, louisa05 said:

I’m wondering what he does behind closed doors if this is how he behaves in front of cameras. 

Seriously. If can't control your rage with 10 million people watching, what the heck goes on when no one is watching?

 

[TuringMachine]

It's not even like it was an emotional gut reaction. Not that it would have been excusable if it had been. It just proves that he really thinks this is acceptable behavior since there was plenty of time for him to consider what he was doing.

 

[47of74]

5 minutes ago, TuringMachine said:

It's not even like it was an emotional gut reaction. Not that it would have been excusable if it had been. It just proves that he really thinks this is acceptable behavior since there was plenty of time for him to consider what he was doing.

 

The whole 2022 Oscars was a cluster fornicate of epic proportions.  Not just Smith's behavior but the snubbing of the people doing the day to day work. 

Quote

Failure, as they say, is the key to success. And evidence of such was on display at the Oscars on Sunday. The Academy’s controversial decision to pretape eight technical award categories before the live show was certainly not the biggest takeaway from an eventful evening. But the new format was met with disapproval from audience members, fans watching at home and Oscar winners in the below-the-line fields.

The eight awards presented ahead of the live show were rattled off in little over a half-hour to an auditorium at the Dolby Theatre that was roughly half-full. And instead of hosts Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes, the early crowd got “Dune” stars Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa.

For weeks, Hollywood’s crafts and below-the-line professionals have protested the Academy’s decision to present these categories off the live show. Various guilds from across the industry sent the Academy and its producers letters asking them to reconsider, and others have taken dramatic steps to push back on the snub, including resigning from the Academy or staging silent protests.

And during the preshow, passionate audience members, such as “Nightmare Alley” nominee Guillermo del Toro (among the most steadfast critics of the new format), showed their support for below-the-line craftspeople on social media.

If I was part of the Academy governing board there'd be some liquid shit hitting the fan right about now.

[Smash!]

I suspect this was a publicity stunt by Will (and Jada?) Smith. Everyone even here on FJ is talking about the incident. For years to come the Oscars 2022 will be tied to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock in the face. From a publicity point of view this is great. The Smith‘s have been giving me famewhore vibes for a few years now. 

I hope this behavior has consequences for him.

[WiseGirl]

Have you seen the Australian clip of the incident? I don't believe it was a publicity stunt. Who would want what should be a triumphant, epic night always linked to this? 

Why did they even let him rush the stage? And did you see him laughing before he saw Jada's reaction? The memes are roasting him, comparing it to his reaction to her affair. And don't give me that standing up for his wife bullshit.

Anyway he has apologized. A better man would call Chris personally. No, wait, a better man wouldn't have done it to begin with.

https://people.com/movies/oscars-2022-will-smith-apologizes-to-chris-rock-says-embarrassed/

I also was disappointed by the stars consoling and celebrating him. Benedict should have won anyway...imo.

[Anne Of Gray Gables]

2 hours ago, Smash! said:

I suspect this was a publicity stunt by Will (and Jada?) Smith. Everyone even here on FJ is talking about the incident. For years to come the Oscars 2022 will be tied to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock in the face. From a publicity point of view this is great. The Smith‘s have been giving me famewhore vibes for a few years now. 

I saw it live, and then watched the uncensored audio on YouTube.  I don't think it was a stunt. Rock would have had to have been in on it, and he clearly was stunned (although he recovered enough to carry on).  Smith was simply out of control, attacking a much smaller man in front of an international live audience. 

Agree about the consoling. Smith wasn't the victim here. 

[PreciousPantsofDoom]

I don't think it was a stunts I don't think either of them come off well in this at all. I think the fact that Smith appeared to laugh at the joke initially doesn't change anything either. First of all, he was on camera on an award show. Comedian tells jokes =audience laughs on cue. Secondly, it takes people a minute sometimes to process. 

I don't get the hate for the other celebrities who went over to talk to Smith afterwards though. I don't see that as "comforting" him. I saw that more as people who went over to try and diffuse the situation or make sure the guy wasn't going to go off again. Like they knew him and thought he might listen to them (or don't know him but have a big ego and needed to be in the centre of attention anyhow 🙄) 

[Anne Of Gray Gables]

1 hour ago, PreciousPantsofDoom said:

I don't get the hate for the other celebrities who went over to talk to Smith afterwards though. I don't see that as "comforting" him. I saw that more as people who went over to try and diffuse the situation or make sure the guy wasn't going to go off again.

He should have been escorted out of the theatre immediately, not petted and calmed down so he could get up there and justify his bizarre action as an act of love.  

I don't care how tasteless the joke was, there is no excuse for what Smith did.  There were so many better ways to deal with the situation, ways to shame Rock and at the same time bring attention to alopecia, that don't involve a physical assault at the Oscars.   

Edited March 29, 2022 by Anne Of Gray Gables

[PreciousPantsofDoom]

2 hours ago, Anne Of Gray Gables said:

He should have been escorted out of the theatre immediately, not petted and calmed down so he could get up there and justify his bizarre action as an act of love.  

 

That's a fair point. I was just thinking of how I might have dealt with it in the moment, which is not to say that I would have made the right choice. When shit is going down the best course of action isn't always easy to figure out.  Mind you, I'm a private citizen, not a big organization who ought to have had some policies in place around what to do in case of random acts of violence. 

[Giraffe]

Emily D Baker (Legal YouTuber) has a video up on this. Starts 50 minutes in. 

She's surprised Smith wasn't escorted out "at least for a segment."

 

[louisa05]

My Appalachian hillbilly Q-anon relatives have spoken: 

It was all fake in order to distract us from the truth. 

The truth is that Putin is the good guy. 

Or maybe the truth is that the Oscars were sponsored by Pfizer and Pfizer is marketing a new drug for alopecia and the whole thing was meant to ensure that they can sell it. (Because mentioning JPS having it will somehow make other people have it...or something like that). They have evidence for this: a random white guy made a reel on IG explaining it. 

Or the truth is that Biden did something extra nefarious overnight which was planned in advance so Chris Rock and Will Smith were paid to create a distraction so the media would never find out what he did. 

No matter which truth is the truth--and all three may be the truth, the whole thing was fake to distract us from the truth. 

[WiseGirl]

And it totally overshadowed this moment. Lady Gaga "I got you" what a great display of compassion.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/03/28/liza-minnelli-lady-gaga-heart-warming-oscars-2022-moment/7198396001/

[mango_fandango]

21 minutes ago, WiseGirl said:

And it totally overshadowed this moment. Lady Gaga "I got you" what a great display of compassion.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/03/28/liza-minnelli-lady-gaga-heart-warming-oscars-2022-moment/7198396001/

I saw that story! What a lovely moment!

[BlondeAgent007]

Such a disappointing recap.  Nothing about the first deaf man to win Best Actor, nothing about Lady Gaga and her moment of compassion, not even anything about the ridiculous dresses and who came with who.  Just Will Smith having a temper tantrum.  I can't believe he made it to the stage - do they not have security?  Do they not have a protocol for random people storming the stage?  If not, is there even a point in having a program, when anyone can willy-nilly get out of their chairs and do whatever?  I've seen American Idol judges say way meaner things, not as a joke, and seen better reactions.  It's a tired joke, I've shaved my own head, it's not because I was having a mental breakdown or wanted to go to boot camp.  But it didn't really seem like his entire routine was gonna be bashing Jada.

[WiseGirl]

3 hours ago, BlondeAgent007 said:

I can't believe he made it to the stage - do they not have security

Right? This really bothered me too. Also going unnoticed back-to-back females winning the best director award.

This article has all the female centered "firsts" all overshadowed by an entitled narcissist. 

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/mar/28/oscars-2022-a-historic-night-for-women-overshadowed-by-male-violence

[Wolf in Sheeples’ Clothing]

On 3/28/2022 at 11:45 AM, EmmieJ said:

I was also so disappointed in Bradley Cooper, Tyler Perry and Denzel Washington who all appeared to go comfort Will Smith.  Um, anyone spare a thought for Chris Rock, just to see if he was okay?  

Chris Rock was comforted at an after party by Wanda Sykes, Sacha Baron Cohen, Woody Harrelson, and Robert De Niro.

So at least he had some people in his corner. Will Smith was grossly out of line.

https://www.bet.com/article/mj52s6/chris-rock-comforted-by-wanda-sykes-amid-will-smith-slap