(Personally, I think Kid Rock had it coming. Smith did only use an open hand.)
By itself, it wasn’t all that unusual for an Academy Award winner to talk about the importance of God in their lives. (A 2015 analysis found that God was the sixth most-thanked person in Academy Award acceptance speeches, only coming behind a slew of famous directors and predator producer Harvey Weinstein.) It actually sounded inspirational, out of context; here was an actor saying this moment was bigger than him and he feels called to represent and defend a much larger community of people.
It was only after the speech ended that I had pieced together what occurred just moments earlier. Comedian Chris Rock had made a joke at Smith’s wife’s expense—not a particular funny one, and even less funny when you realize Jada Pinkett Smith is bald due to alopecia—only to see Smith get up out of his seat to smack Rock in an apparently unscripted moment.
Jada told Will with her eyebrow how high to jump & he did. IIf Will is so vulnerable that the annoying little skinny kid teasing you about being whipped, well then, who really has the power & who is calling it out. Jada is one of a few women that can carry that look & I thought it was a style choice. Wear a wig Jada if it is such an issue with you.....or your bitch. She should have fought her own battle like she does in the movies. I never got the Oscars anyway. Grammys, Rock 'n Roll Hall Of Fame. Just a means to separate people from their wallets.
Smith acted abominably. It is never okay to use violence no matter how much upset you are by someone’s so called joke. No wonder that there is so much gun violence in the US.
I do like that he used an open hand to slap him, which shows some restraint.
Chris Rock didn't just deliver an edgy joke that "didn't land." He punched down. He made a "joke" about Jada's physical affliction that affected her looks. Never cool, and certainly not edgy. It was shitty, and I have no love for Jada. Smith's behavior was equally shitty and definitely not gallant. There were no heroes in last night's story.
She cheats on him, and he's smacking people for her? He's an asshole and she still doesn't deserve him.
We don't know what the agreements are in their marriage. I myself am not so quick to judge.
I WISH it had been Kid Rock, not Chris Rock!
Yeah, I realized the mistake after the post had been up for several hours.
@snytiger6 If anyone was deserving, it would be Kid Rock!
I have zero interest in so-called celebrities. Pay zero attention to them.
And for these two shitheads, bad publicity is still good publicity.
When I lived in Los Angeles, I had met many celebrities, but observed many more than I had actually actually talked to. For fun, for about ten years, I worked as an "Extra" for movies television anhd commercials. Some celebrities are full of themselves, some when working are totally focused on their work and professional, and some are genuinely nice people.
Many people get the wrong impression. For example I worked a lot on The West Wing, and people kept telling me how Rob Lowe was a total stuck up jerk. I had not seen him much, but we did see Martin Sheen all the time, as he came over and talked and joked with us. Then one day Rob Lowe had two scenes one at the beginning of the day and and another one at the end of the day and nothing in between. On that day he came over and was social and talked with us as well. The difference being that he had two lines to do that day, and not continuous scenes where he had to remain focused on his work. I found him to be a pretty nice guy. It is just most of the time he is too busy to just be himself, because he is totally professional in him work.
Anyway, my point is that celebrities seldom are able to relax in their professions and just be regular people. Often their public personas differ a great deal from who they really are. They work in a business that is literally a surrealistic reality of existence, which seldom allows them to be regular people, even if they want to. Because they spend so much time in the surrealistic world of being a celebrity, they often get lost in that world and can have a warped sense of reality.
I have never met him, but I have been told that Tom Hanks is one of the few that has managed to keep a level sense of reality despite being a celebrity.
I’m so disappointed. I always really like Will Smith. I grew up watching him. Sucks to learn he’s an abusive and self centered dick.
He's worse than that.
[patheos.com]
@LovinLarge disappointing.
@LovinLarge I had no idea. Like others, I always thought he was likeable and benign. All told, last night was a real fall from grace for him as more of this comes out.
@Lauren Funny, I could not see the love in his heart when he was hitting Chris Rick. He should be banned from the Oscars AND from running for public office!
@Lauren right? Me too. Of course this is not as bad as Bill Cosby but I had that same feeling. The shock and disappointment. This came from nowhere and I’d have never expected this from him.
@FreethoughtKaty Yes, exactly, it's a similar feeling of betrayal. Once the charade is uncovered, it usually precedes a lot of stories coming out from other people. So sad.
I've lost any respect I may have had for Will Smith.
His apology was total bullshit.
Chris Rock is a comedian. Sometimes, jokes don't land. There was no justification for WS to respond with violence.
Further, they can ALL shove their thanks to a non-existent deity.
Chris Rock is noted for ''edgy'' jokes and nobody should be surprised. I didn't know about the alopecia and it's possible many people didn't know, either. If she's really all that sensitive...she could wear a wig....OR SHOW SOME CLASS and ignore Chris. Instead, Will smith behaved in a way which must've played right into the hands of racists. Nothing like violence to settle a ''hurt." And did you notice he didn't thank ANYONE of the crew?
Instead, he stood and cried like a child caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.
Not only that....this morning I spoke with a friend who works in ''the business.'' She said ''everyone knows they're BOTH assholes!" The sad truth is...it takes very self-centered egos to survive in Hollywood. (That's why Betty White was such an anomaly.) What we saw on that stage was a fine
example.