Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,
I didn't see the Academy Awards until Monday night. I don't have live TV. So all day Monday I avoided the news. I did hear a man at work say something about Chris Rock that sounded odd. I paid it no heed.
By Monday evening the show was streaming on Hulu and I was ready to watch and be surprised by the choices the Academy made. I enjoyed the show. Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, and Regina Hall were great, proving that the show needs a host, or three. Their bits were brief; they kept the show moving.
Finally, we reached the award for the best documentary. Chris Rock took the stage.
He tossed off a few jokes, including one about Jada's hairless head. Will laughed; Jada rolled her eyes.
Will charged the stage.
What the fuck?
The sound cut out, and then the picture. Will really had smacked the shit out of Chris Rock.
I thought the show would come to a temporary halt while officers removed Will Smith.
Instead, he won his Academy Award for Best Actor and gave a tearful, self-serving speech cooked up by a publicist and didn't even apologize to the man he hit.
I don't know how Chris Rock finished presenting the award.
I felt sick to my stomach and couldn't enjoy the rest of the show.
Some lovely women I know who have problems with a lack of hair were offended by Chris Rock's joke. I have thin hair and do my best to hide it with hairstyles. But it was the slap that bothered me. I spent my childhood and youth being slapped. Seeing some violence in a movie doesn't bother me (I rather like the choreographed violence in Tarantino movies). That slap –– that bothered me and it still bothers me; hence, I write about it a week after the event.
Chris Rock said he didn't know Jada Pinkett Smith has alopecia. I didn't know, either, although numerous articles said she's open about it.
She happens to look gorgeous with her head shaved, but if it bothers her so much, she could have worn a wig. Plenty of people who have alopecia do. She also could have found a way to defend herself using words at an appropriate time.
I believe the hosts also made jokes about the Smiths earlier in the evening. I don't remember what they said. A lot of people comment on the Smiths because of Jada's "entanglement" with another man, though Will insists there's been no infidelity.
If you don't want to face the possibility that someone will make a joke at your expense, then don't go to the show. Jokes are always made about the luminaries in attendance.
What Chris Rock said might have been in poor taste, but what Will Smith did was a crime.
If I went up on a stage and hit someone, I would be arrested. So would you. Why wasn't he?
I don't agree with the people who say Will re-enforced stereotypes about Black men. Will Smith does not represent Black men. He represents Will Smith, and Will Smith is an asshole. Jada smiled/laughed when Will hit Chris Rock. Their son, Jaden, tweeted
And That’s How We Do It
— Jaden (@jaden) March 28, 2022
so they are a family of entitled assholes who think that physical violence is the way to happiness and self-satisfaction.
Will Smith ruined the presentation of the Best Documentary Award that should have been a golden moment for Questlove. and his fellow winners. He ruined the Best Actor Academy Award presentation.
And I wasn't the only person who found that slap a triggering event.
Will has resigned from the Academy. I don't know what else will or should happen to him, but he sure didn't deserve a standing ovation when he went up to collect his Oscar.
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug
You've covered a great deal of the background already. From what I've read, it's also possible that Will's drive to please Jada was behind that smile/oops/slap behavior of his. I feel sorry for him. She seems like a predator to me. But still, he has to be accountable for his behavior, and "love makes you do crazy things" gets a big fat NO from me. I've never been a fan of Chris Rock, his humour is a bit too pointed for me, but he showed himself to be the better man here.
ReplyDeleteChris Rock showed grace under pressure. Officers said he declined to file a police report.
DeleteA heard a few years ago Jada wouldn't go to the awards in some protest or another and Chris Rock made a joke about it...like who would care if she didn't go. So they do make jokes about people who aren't there sometimes. I'm glad Will resigned. The slap was bad enough but then him shouting obscenities from his seat afterwards...too much.
ReplyDeleteJada was upset one year because she thought Will should be nominated for something, and yes, Chris made a joke about her not being invited anyway.
DeleteI watched the Awards show live and was also shocked by what happened. I do think the joke was in bad taste but Will's reaction to it at the moment was totally wrong. If he had to he could have discussed it with Chris later in private. I read the police were called and were ready to arrest Will but Chris refused to press charges. Chris has handled this whole thing with grace and kindness. It was wrong and sad how Will's actions hurt many other people by taking away what the night was all about, most especially for the Best Documentary Award winners. I had not seen Jaden's tweet. That says it all.
ReplyDeleteThe Smiths and their son are a sad bunch.
DeletePERFECTLY put.
ReplyDeleteThank you, my love. I thought about it all week.
DeleteNever having been a big movie fan, I do not watch the Oscars on TV, but this incident seems to have garnered more publicity than the show itself. Reminds me a little of roller derby! From what I have read the television audience has been shrinking, and I can't imagine this will do anything to revive flagging interest.
ReplyDeleteThe audience increased this year, but it will be sad if more people watch next year to see what crazy thing might happen.
Deletere: Jada's infidelity
ReplyDeleteWill says he KNEW of the relationship so it wasn't infidelity. That's a nice story he told himself to try and save face when his wife was screwing another man.
Your assessment is very much like mine, proving common sense is always the best answer.
It's not cheating if you know about it? That never worked for me with my husband. He actually told me once that he thought I could be friends with his girlfriend.
DeleteNo arguments from me. He should have been charged with assault. Instead he received an Oscar...
ReplyDeleteIt was sickening to see him making that acceptance speech. Not everyone stood for the ovation.
DeleteNo comment
ReplyDeleteI hope Mr. Rock will change his mind and press charges ~ and that he NEVER makes snarky comments about other's appearance again.
ReplyDeleteThey are both a$$holes.
I would prefer it if comedian's could make their jokes without commenting on the way people look.
DeleteI agree, Janie. No matter what someone says, you have no right to put your hands on them. It's assault. And yes, Will Smith only represents Will Smith.
ReplyDeleteSome people have described his behavior as "toxic masculinity." I don't know about that. I think it's toxic Will Smith.
DeleteWell said! Violence is epidemic in America - however, we should never act like it's normal behavior. I will never tolerate male toxicity and believe it's the height of arrogance to lay hands on another person.
ReplyDeleteI've read that he had a violent, abusive father, but I hope society doesn't make Will Smith into a hero.
Someone analyzed his behavior as making up for his inability to save his mother from his father. If that's the case, then I hope he can learn to deal with those feelings through words, rather than violence.
DeleteWill should have got up and left, taking his wife if she wanted to leave. A far more effective statement. I cannot believe he was not escorted from the theater.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Getting up and walking out would have been powerful.
DeleteYeah, it was an ugly incident all the way around. People who behave like professionals in any field of endeavour do not stoop to violence.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I do love a good hockey fight though, so I guess I'm a hypocrite, LOL!
I think hockey fans are prepared to see the players fight. We're not prepared for fights at the Academy Awards.
DeleteI never watch the Oscars except to see what people wear when they arrive. But this year, I cut in here and there. I think I saw a total of 20 minutes. I personally think Will and Chris have poor taste. And they both got get what comes. But I will say with Chris Rock or any other comic or insult comic...if your familiar with them or go to see one's show, go in with a sense of humor and openness, and not be easily offended, or don't go at all. I went to a Lisa Lampanelli show once and laughed my ass off, but a few were offended and put off. Like she replied to a groan from the audience- "Oh boo hoo, if you're so easily offended- there's the door bitch."
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to see you posted...I thought maybe you hung it up.
Thanks, honey. I haven't give up on blogging. I'd like to write more often, but I get up early so I need an early bedtime. It doesn't leave me with much time for activities I enjoy.
DeleteI agree with everything you wrote. I just hate that this has gotten, and continues to get, so much attention.
ReplyDeleteI think it will die down after a while, but it will always be on the list of worst or craziest things to happen at awards shows.
DeleteApplause, hon. I fully agree. It's grotesque and sickening and sets us back into the caveMAN era.
ReplyDeleteLove you.
Writing about it is helping me recover from it. I was VERY upset. Actually thought I might throw up.
DeleteI don't have TV either and haven't seen any of this. I'm sure it reinforced stereotypical thoughts in the people who like to think them. In pictures, it looks like a real bad slap. It looks like Chris's neck could have been injured.
ReplyDeleteWhen the sound cut out after the slap, Chris said, "Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me." I don't know how he stayed on his feet and kept going. I sure heard the slap.
DeleteI don't know if my comment disappeared or if it got sucked up in your comment moderation. Hopefully, the latter. So I will finish it here: What I disliked the most in the aftermath was the privilege with which Will Smith was treated. The Academy should have removed him, even if Chris Rock didn't want to press charges. I mean, can you slap people on live TV without any cosequences? Some example that's setting for the rest of the population that believe slaps are OK.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. He should have been removed. That kind of behavior without an arrest or being escorted out plays into the violence encouraged by certain politicians. The aftermath showed Will Smith embraced and consoled by Denzel Washington, Bradley Cooper, and others. Then he got a standing ovation.
DeleteTo make it worse, he didn't care until his wife gave him the stink eye. Is he so insecure in his relationship that he can't keep his whits about him? But then I did watch the red table talk where they discussed the "entanglement" and it was brutal. I'd say Will Smith is bleeding in pain...though that's no excuse to slap a guy.
ReplyDeleteChris Rock was a hero keeping it all together and doing his best to honor the next winners. He's a real pro. And for the record, I didn't know she had alopecia either and wouldn't have guessed it by looking at her. I had a cousin with alopecia and he was bald as a cue ball with a shiny head and no eyebrows. I realize now you can have it in differing degrees, but like you, I agree she looked stunning and I just thought it was a fashion choice.
Will went from laughter to slapping awfully fast. He must be desperate to curry Jada's favor. She humiliated him with her affair. I've always said that teasing is only okay if the thing you tease a person about it is something for which they can feel good, or proud. By my definition, saying something about Jada was fine because she has every reason to feel good about her appearance. She could have waited till the next day and made a statement about not liking the joke, but wanting people to know there's no reason to be ashamed of alopecia. Lots of people have it.
DeleteI agree 100%
ReplyDeleteYou could see him laughing at the joke himself. Until he probably saw his wife's face. There has been a lot of news swirling around the couple the last few years.. esp about Jada being abusive. I don't know what is true or not.. it is Hollywood. But violence is never the answer.
Am I the only one who, the more I looked at the whole kerfuffle the more it looks like a publicity stunt gone awry? Regardless, it shows how norms of public behavior have deteriorated. Even before (long before) the penultimate commander-in-chief who broke all standards, we had shows on broadcast TV like Jerry Springer and Maury, who turned the most base behavior into entertainment, and the standards sank below bottom.
ReplyDeleteExactly. I thought the joke was dumb, but nothing about it merited a physical response. I've also read that some people are turning this into some sort of racial thing. Good grief, the fact that both are black men never entered into my thinking. Sadly, though, this is where we are.
ReplyDeleteA radio Dj said on one of my morning shows, that if he had been in a club he'd been arrested immediately. Comedians are always on the edge to get the reaction from the audience. It's what they do. Especially Chris rock, his comedy is edgy. If every comedian needs to watch what they say for fear of violence then where are we?
ReplyDeleteIt's weeks later and I have yet to see any true contrition from Will Smith.
ReplyDelete