The Oscars are tonight; prepare for outrage

I realize that we have focused on one of the most negative aspects of the show, but I wanted to point out this lovely moment where Lady Gaga supported Liza Minelli without diminishing or patronizing her in any way.

And the hot mic moment was just heartwarming.

 

May have already been mentioned. After watching Chris Rock delivering his GI Jane lines and seeing the initial expression from Will Smith following the joke it appeared that Smith actually found the joke funny. My guess is that Jada was really hurt by the remark, let Will Smith know how she felt in no uncertain terms after which Smith became outraged and attacked Chris Rock. I also suspect that Rock had absolutely no idea that Jada Pinkett Smith was suffering from alopecia even if she mentioned it numerous times in the past. Maybe it's just me but I don't think that most comedians extensively research the subjects of their jokes.

 

That was assault? That was a slap. I'm not saying what Will did was right, but Chris Rock was 100% the blame here because he initiated it. It's one thing if this is stand-up comedy and you know you are going to get ribbed, but nothing in Chris Rock's demeanor until that moment suggested he was going to go off script...at an awards show. Like I said earlier, he did this in 2016 at the Oscars ripping into Jada, and it's possible Will just had enough. We don't know the entire story here and there's something going on that we don't know yet about.

 

yes, that was assault.

 

A slap is an assault. And i'm sorry, sticks and stones, etc. etc., he is a grown man using violence to "defend" his wife from words. Honestly, it probably wasn't so much about Rock's lame joke, because to be honest, its very tame; it's the constant humiliation and scrutiny he has been under about his wife and her infidelity that probably riled him up. I'm sure they do a good job faking it, but I'm sure he is tired of people making jokes at his expense about their open marriage, as Regina Hall did earlier in the Oscars.

 

I have a feeling he would play the Will Smith role better:

 

Under California law, it was a battery.
“A battery is any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another.”

Assault is far more questionable. Again, under California law, “[a]n assault is an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another.”

 

Battery. See my post above this one.

 

Yes, discounting the small potential that it was staged, it was a battery. It wasn't the worst battery in the world. Will wasn't trying to injure Chris IMO but humiliate him and assert dominance. We have all seen worse, but it was still a battery. I understand that Will was upset but doubt he would have done that if Joe Rogan had been hosting. It looked a little to me like Will taking out his aggression on a guy he knew he could physically intimidate.

What's interesting to me about this is that the takes do not really seem to break down on gender, racial, or partisan lines - at least from the tweets and comments I've been reading.

 

Agree it wasn’t staged. Also agree we’ve seen worse. But it’s battery.

“Wow, Will just slapped the s*%# out of me!!!”

good smith gave full apology yesterday.

 

Didn’t Will make fun of someone on Arsenio for the same thing? Also I would have thought ascending (paying) to the ninth dragon would have come with a cure for hair loss.

 

Imagine a world where anyone who is the object of a comedian's joke can just violently attack the comedian.

Now please explain how in what rational & reasonable world is that okay?

 

My first comment to my wife when we heard about this and saw the clip was : "Will Smith just perpetuated white stereotypes of black men that their only response is violence". She told me that it was horrible that this was my first thought.

Well, apparently Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had a similar thought: obviously I agree with this.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says Will Smith 'perpetuated stereotypes about the Black community' by slapping Chris Rock at Oscars

 

This was not the first time Rock made a dig at Jada during the Oscars. He said this in 2016 when she said she was boycotting the show; “Jada got mad, said she’s not coming,” Rock said during his opening monologue. “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.”

 

Will is fortunate rock took the hit and kept rolling.

 

If Mike wants to make jokes about dead family members of everyone in the audience, they’ll have no choice but sit there and laugh.

 

I like that one better. (1) It wasn't about her appearance; (2) it was kinda self-deprecating by saying he had no shot at Rhianna; and (3) it was actually funny (IMHO).

 

I'm personally a big fan of Mike Tyson, the peacemaker: "I said I don't like all your feudin...it makes me feel bad and I dont like feelin bad..."

 

This has been my favorite meme. Let’s see who gets it.