Will Smith slapping Chris Rock

[Dave Gray]

I am pretty amazed by this.

I am surprised at how much sympathy and support Will Smith is getting for his actions.  It's crazy to me.  There are some things where I'd just assume we're on the same side.  Not being able to physically assault a comedian on stage, then go sick back in your seat is one of those things.

I don't even really BLAME the Academy for screwing this up, because it was such a whirlwind in the moment.

But they 100% should have a hard line against physical assault on their performers.  Any place should.  Judging the appropriateness or insult of the joke itself misses the point.  Allowing Will Smith to sit there and ruin the night for everyone else who won an award after that, while he sucked all the oxygen out of the room was pretty awful.  Then giving him a platform to explain away his abuse and get a standing ovation was even more gross.

You just gotta get him out of there, accept the award on his behalf and move on.

I'm kinda shocked at the number of people I see explaining away crazy behavior and I'm stunned by it.

[ArtieChokePhin]

I am pretty amazed by this.

I am surprised at how much sympathy and support Will Smith is getting for his actions.  It's crazy to me.  There are some things where I'd just assume we're on the same side.  Not being able to physically assault a comedian on stage, then go sick back in your seat is one of those things.

I don't even really BLAME the Academy for screwing this up, because it was such a whirlwind in the moment.

But they 100% should have a hard line against physical assault on their performers.  Any place should.  Judging the appropriateness or insult of the joke itself misses the point.  Allowing Will Smith to sit there and ruin the night for everyone else who won an award after that, while he sucked all the oxygen out of the room was pretty awful.  Then giving him a platform to explain away his abuse and get a standing ovation was even more gross.

You just gotta get him out of there, accept the award on his behalf and move on.

I'm kinda shocked at the number of people I see explaining away crazy behavior and I'm stunned by it.

Maybe because you shouldn't be making fun of another man's wife who is suffering from a disease and the physical deformities/emotional stress that is caused by it.    If my wife was sick and someone else cracked a joke about it, they'd get a lot worse than bitch slapped.

[stinkfish]

Maybe because you shouldn't be making fun of another man's wife who is suffering from a disease and the physical deformities/emotional stress that is caused by it.    If my wife was sick and someone else cracked a joke about it, they'd get a lot worse than bitch slapped.

You can't blame the victim though. Chris Rock didn't deserve to be hit for telling a joke no matter how Effed up the joke might have been. I think it's strange that Will Smith went from laughing at the joke to hitting the guy who told the joke.

[Downunder Dolphan]

I am pretty amazed by this.

I am surprised at how much sympathy and support Will Smith is getting for his actions.  It's crazy to me.  There are some things where I'd just assume we're on the same side.  Not being able to physically assault a comedian on stage, then go sick back in your seat is one of those things.

I don't even really BLAME the Academy for screwing this up, because it was such a whirlwind in the moment.

But they 100% should have a hard line against physical assault on their performers.  Any place should.  Judging the appropriateness or insult of the joke itself misses the point.  Allowing Will Smith to sit there and ruin the night for everyone else who won an award after that, while he sucked all the oxygen out of the room was pretty awful.  Then giving him a platform to explain away his abuse and get a standing ovation was even more gross.

You just gotta get him out of there, accept the award on his behalf and move on.

I'm kinda shocked at the number of people I see explaining away crazy behavior and I'm stunned by it.

My personal reaction (and going by the news and social media reactions, the rest of Australia) agree with you Dave.

Chris Rock's joke was in poor taste, but he's kind of known for that - plus the Oscars have a history of it, with quite a few past presenters roasting attendees in a very similar fashion without this kind of reaction. Would there have been a different reaction if Will Smith had got up and smacked Ricky Gervais in the mouth if he made the same joke? Or if it was Amy Schumer? What if it was a white actor who got up and slugged Chris Rock over a joke? It would be an absolute outrage.

Will Smith (so far) has got off lightly because it was a brother hitting another brother, and because he won an Oscar not long afterwards. This was an assault that should be dealt with, and IMO it doesn't matter if Rock presses charges or not - it was done on a live broadcast to millions of viewers, it should be a case of no contest.

I guess the ironic thing of this is if this happened backstage there would be a lot less fuss, albeit still a major story. But immediately assaulting a working comedian live on an international broadcast because you don't like his joke should be made an example of, and not in the way that happened.

[ArtieChokePhin]

You can't blame the victim though. Chris Rock didn't deserve to be hit for telling a joke no matter how Effed up the joke might have been. I think it's strange that Will Smith went from laughing at the joke to hitting the guy who told the joke.

Making fun of someone's race or disability is crossing the line.   Chris Rock deserved to get hit.   So did Kramer from Seinfeld when he shouted the N word on stage several times with several black people looking on.   He's lucky he didn't get a beatdown.

[Dave Gray]

I'm glad I can always count on you for the worst take possible.

[masterfins]

I happened to see this part live, I was switching between channels.  I heard the sound of him hitting Chris Rock, but I thought it was a joke.  The sound was then cut off and I couldn't hear what Will was saying after that, just the video of it.  I think Will Smith was way out of line, if he thought it was that bad of a joke he could have said so in interviews after the event.  She has hair loss, BFD.  She's had it for a couple years, not like it just started.  It's not like she's going to die from it.  It was a joke.

[Phishfan]

I didn't watch but the way it was discussed on the radio this morning,  Smith wasn't upset immediately. They said he had a smile and then Jada got in his ear. Many a man has found himself in a similar situation. These people all know each other as well. I don't condone the action but I can see why it happened.

[EDGECRUSHER]

His wife controls him and that's sad. Walks all over him, cheats on him and he is still there. He was fine with the joke until Jada wasn't and then we saw what we saw.

He is in his 50s, he should be someone other actors and people look up to like Denzel is, he shouldn't need to be calmed down BY Denzel.

[Fau Teixeira]

I think it was wrong, also if it was The Rock up there instead of Rock, his ass would have stayed in that seat.

[Tenshot13]

Scripted and fake to boost ratings and bring attention for awards shows no one watches anymore. 

[EDGECRUSHER]

Scripted and fake to boost ratings and bring attention for awards shows no one watches anymore. 

My initial reaction too but then I saw the video a second time and think it was real. That's how untrained men fight, this isn't Hollywood. Surprised he even landed the slap and Rock was thinking that Smith was probably joking until the slap hit him.

Besides, maybe a temporary ratings boost in the moment but what person is going to watch in 2023 that wasn't already an Oscars viewer based off this one moment? You either like that unfunny garbage or you don't.

[Dave Gray]

Scripted and fake to boost ratings and bring attention for awards shows no one watches anymore. 

No chance.  That is as real as it gets.  Scripted by whom?  You think Will Smith ruined his career for the Oscars?

[Downunder Dolphan]

Making fun of someone's race or disability is crossing the line.

Alopecia is a medical condition. While it's typically worse for women, it's a real stretch to call it a disability.

Deafness is a disability. The real tragedy is that at these awards, a deaf Actor won the best supporting male category, and CODA about a deaf family won best film - and they're not getting the attention they deserve (and probably never will) because of what Will Smith did.

Live Dave said in the opening post, he should have been thrown out of the room after incident the and not allowed back in to accept his award (let alone make that speech).

[Phishfan]

Scripted and fake to boost ratings and bring attention for awards shows no one watches anymore. 

How does it boost ratings when people didn't know it would happen?