Will Smith's altercation at the Oscars

[Navigator]

The fact that there is a relatively good dilemma, a story, "act or not to act? how to react?", could be indicative that this was staged. Otherwise, without it, the stunt would land flat in the eyes of the audience and appear unbelievable.

All other secondary narratives, like the "prime-time TV violence", "male violence", "Oscars ratings" and whatever we can come up with, have been relegated or obscured in favor of the first one. But again, who benefits?

 

[Mikha'El]

I fail to see what outcome TPTB can achieve from this if it were scripted and acted out.

It makes Will appear to be a weak, controlled cuckold and it makes Chris look like a trampled martyr.

Perhaps They are trying to show the public that Hollywood, the music industry, political elite can get away with bitch slapping a person on live tv and then receive an award afterwards?

Personally, I think that WS and JPS should be banned from further award show appearances. (Not that I really care, tbh)

Maybe it's just another form of cognitive dissonance? I don't know, but I struggle to believe that this was a staged event.

Also, with Chris' fairly abrasive style of being (IMO), he has probably taken quite a few hits to the jaw and has acquired the skill of rolling with them.

 

[unkl brws]

If this were true, the security guards would have been on the stage right away. And if it were true, it would not have been a slap in the face (not successful at all), but a punch that Smith would have given.

This was a show for the masses who will soon have nothing to eat, who will soon be forced to have ration cards, etc. After two years of confinement, the film industry needs to get back on its feet and fast. The actors need to be seen, to be talked about, they need contacts to play in propaganda films.

I don't put myself in Smith's shoes. I don't ask myself if this had happened to me, how would I have acted? That's what they want people to debate, instead of debating whether it's okay to have a president like Biden in office. Or if the war in Ukraine is right or not.

The show is of bad taste for people who have no concept of what is the good cinema, which is the seventh art after all. The altercation between Smith and the presenter looks like a movie of Category B. Ugly, vulgar, a scene from a tavern.

Yes, very bad taste. I remember when the Oscars were a classy event. Those days are gone.

 

[Mikha'El]

Russel Brand has a great take on the whole thing:

 

[Artex]

So, the question in my mind would be, at what point defending yourself or your loved one from an insult/joke would get you to act this way? If somebody punches me, I would act back, but when it comes to a bad joke or comment, I'm not sure.

The time for Will Smith to have a problem with the joke was in rehearsal when Chris Rock told it the first time.

The whole debacle is just depressing, not in the least because of all the people rationalizing violence over, let's be honest, a very mild joke, even if it is assumed that Chris Rock knew about Jada's alopecia.

 

[Artex]

After the GI Jane 2 comment they showed Will Smith and he was smiling but his wife did not look amused at all. She may have had a quiet word in his ear and instructed him to defend her dignity or else life would get a little bit tricky for him. I don't blame her if she did. That comment was insensitive to say the least.

Yes, I'd like to see that missing couple seconds of video that most assuredly exists.

 

[Artex]

My take is that I've been watching Will Smith for a long time and have never heard him swear. The pain on his face had absolutely nothing to do with the joke and everything to do with his failing marriage and his diminishing role in it.

These jokes are all rehearsed. Additionally, the hosts of award shows ALWAYS roast attendees. All this episode did was reinforce negative stereotypes and signal to a whole lot of ideologically possessed people that it's okay to physically attack a comedian who tells a joke they don't like.

Chris Rock was doing his job. Will and Jada need thicker skin.

 

[SevenFeathers]

Let me get this straight. Smith stays with a woman who went on a talk show and talked about cheating on him, and how another man was her soulmate. He stayed with her. Didn't that make him mad? But he gets mad when a comedian makes a joke about her? Yeah, right. These people make me sick.

 

[Hi_Henry]

Dave Chappelle said something along the lines, " I can use the N word, but you can't". How true. One set of rules for "them", another for "others".

Chris Rock is a comedian, Smith is an actor. They are in a business where they all break rules. Making a joke ,that I bet most did not get, about Smith's wife just does not qualify as a reason to physically attack someone AND GET AWAY WITH IT. Heck, Mel Gibson was drunk, used some tame words and was banned from Hellywood.
But this joker , NOTHING HAPPENED.

 

[mkrnhr]

wow, 5 pages already on a funny non-event.
basic line, everyone has a red line not to be crossed. For most, this red line is family: wife, parent, kids, siblings etc. Usually this red line is clear and its violation naturally leads to violence. In the case of the prince of belle air, the lines are blurred. People sleep with his wife, he's okay with it because maybe it's a normal thing in holywood, who knows. The blurring of this red line is perhaps what lead to that comically gentle "slap".
A well dosed slap can be more impactful than a punch, especially because it's unpredictable and instinctual (think of cats or lions). Maybe for all the years of making fake punches and slaps for movies, one loses that instinct? Who knows. The whole thing is of the level of Jerry Springer's trash TV anyway. It's funny and pathetic for a moment, but mostly drama for the sake of drama.

 

[Menna]

The fact that there is a relatively good dilemma, a story, "act or not to act? how to react?", could be indicative that this was staged. Otherwise, without it, the stunt would land flat in the eyes of the audience and appear unbelievable.

All other secondary narratives, like the "prime-time TV violence", "male violence", "Oscars ratings" and whatever we can come up with, have been relegated or obscured in favor of the first one. But again, who benefits?

Jada...I don't know the guy but its evident will smith in the moment went crazy or is crazy

 

[Joe]

The unmanned, cheated-on Will is manned up for a big staged manly slap.

Strange thing is, assuming it was real, he did it because he was seeking attention and approval from his wife. That's not a 'manly' thing to do.

 

[Joe]

Some more thoughts on the thoughts I think MUST have gone into this.

Smith was expected to get the Oscar that he received soon after his slap antics.

His Oscar was for his role in a movie where a 'crazy father does crazy things for the women he loves'.

Rock's joke wasn't part of his routine during the rehearsals leading up to the show, according to two sources close to production who were not authorized to speak publicly.

Before suddenly getting mad, Smith laughed at Rock's joke. His wife just rolled her eyes.

After the show, Smith posed for photographs with his family outside the Vanity Fair party. Inside, cell phone videos captured him dancing to “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” while clutching his Oscar. Their son Jaden tweeted: “And That’s How We Do It.” On Instagram, Smith posted: “Me ’n Jada Pinkett Smith got all dressed up to choose chaos.”

I'm not saying it was definitely staged, it just looks that way to me. Then again, when you have raging narcissist and dysfunctional actors involved in anything, it's probably difficult to tell what is real and what is not. They are, after all, consummately fake people.

 

[The Mechanic]

Interesting connection found by a guy I follow. It goes like this:
Oscars are sponsored by Pfizer -> A joke made about someone's disease named Alopecia create a stir -> Pfizer just happens to wrap up on a new drug for Alopecia

Pfizers' own press release about this from last August: Pfizer Announces Positive Top-Line Results from Phase 2b/3 Trial of Ritlecitinib in Alopecia Areata | Pfizer

Source:

 

[Artex]

Rock's joke wasn't part of his routine during the rehearsals leading up to the show, according to two sources close to production who were not authorized to speak publicly.

I had heard most sources reporting it was in the rehearsal and everyone laughed then too.

Bottom line, society used to accept duels as a solution to slights, verbal or otherwise. I don't want to return to that society. And this isn't that far removed from honor killings.