The Oscars

[Fencers]

I actually fell asleep and missed the whole thing. But did see the video of Smith slapping Rock.

Eh. I wonder what the reaction would have been if it was someone such as Adrian Brody or Mel Gibson that slapped Rock under the same set of circumstances.

Not really cool with the way Smith's actions seem to have been hand-waved. But Charisma is the most powerful stat in real life, so it is what it is.

[Razorice]

Insults...nice. But you'd never have the balls to say that to my face...or insult someone over a medical condition in front of me.
At least not do such a 2nd time.

Watch out, we have a bad-ass over here.

[Gnomesized]

Will go down in history as the last ever time that testosterone was involved in the oscars.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Some jokes are just bad.

[Rennadrel]

Will Smith did nothing wrong. Seriously. It's normal reaction when someone is attacking your family. And that wasnt even a fist. Just open hand.

If you are so thin skinned that you can't take a comedic jab, you won't survive in this world.

[panda040]

All he did was make a joke, its not like he fucked his wife. LMAO

[BeepBoo]

If someone insults husband's wife in public mocking her medical condition, and husband does nothing, it says something more negative about the husband than it does the wife.

It says more negative about them if they do something like this instead IMO. Don't be a bitch with thin skin and get insulted by randos, comedians, or anyone else. Just ignore it, leave, or laugh it off. Unga bunga caveman response is probably as bad as it gets to non-physical provocation. If you don't have absolute perfect control over your emotions, you're lacking as a person.

[Mekh]

So far, a lot of people upset about that love tap seem to be the same sort who in other places insist on their right to concealed carry to defend their parking space.

[panda040]

I actually fell asleep and missed the whole thing. But did see the video of Smith slapping Rock.

Eh. I wonder what the reaction would have been if it was someone such as Adrian Brody or Mel Gibson that slapped Rock under the same set of circumstances.

Not really cool with the way Smith's actions seem to have been hand-waved. But Charisma is the most powerful stat in real life, so it is what it is.

It's a double standard, if it was a white guy who did it twatter would be exploding with racist rhetoric. But since will smith is black its somehow more acceptable to assault someone on stage for a joke.

[Okacz]

Insults...nice. But you'd never have the balls to say that to my face...or insult someone over a medical condition in front of me.
At least not do such a 2nd time.

As a comedian, I'd be quite afraid of your two lightsabers. And would try not to make jokes about them if you were in the front row.

Willingly coming to a show that is designed to make fun of them, and then getting mad? Not sure if that's the "manly" thing to do.

I really hope this event wont resonate to other stupidly aggressive people tho. If Smith keeps getting good press over it, we might start seeing christians visiting Ricky Gervais shows, or people from Louisiana sitting on the front seats during Tom Segura ones, to wait for the right moment to get triggered and slap the comedian in the face.

[draynay]

People in healthy relationships don't really overreact and put on a demonstration like that, they must be in shambles even more than I thought.

This is such a weird hypothetical people keep bringing up with no evidence to support it.

You'd think the reality would be interesting enough without them having to make shit up to be mad about.

[PACOX]

The internet always reminds me that a lot of people don't have a lot of social experience. Also no one actually about the Oscar. People care about one thing, the slap.

"Will laughed first" - means absolutely nothing about whether someone liked a joke a not. A laugh means a lot...like 'I'm about to slap you.

"Will didn't have to handle it there" - This is right. But that joke should have been written, or maybe they should have warned the Smiths up to it (that doesn't mean straight up approval but' hey were going to b telling some jokes about you), don't put someone in a situation where they are "expected" take whatever you throw at them to maintain appearances because that's when disrespect or feelings of disrespect hit the hardest. He could have handled it differently but he did not and it's not the end of the world.

"He should have been arrested". WTF? No. Life isn't a video game where police jump out of the woodwork when something happens and minor infraction takes place. Its like throwing tickets at people for going 5MPH over the speed limit. Let's jail the man for a slap that the person who got slapped brushed off, something that wasn't escalated, isolated, and would land him a brief probation tops if sentenced. We have to get this dangerous man off the streets!

"Rock should do x" No. Rock handled the situation like an adult if not one who actual how a bit of empathy for the man who hit him. Read Chris. I believe he understood the joke wouldn't was a bit too much. He didn't expect or deserved to hit but I believe he understood everything that led up to that moment and could sort of see where Will was coming from. He also realizes the situation is over. Whether he and Will make up, he knows they can easily just go their separate ways, no need to further push the issue. Whatever happens between them next is private and doesn't have to be public, nor do I believe he took it personally. Not the first or last time one of his jokes, even if it was his, has ticked someone off.


"It was just a joke" Nah, just because something is a joke means it's acceptable or should just be taken on the chin. People have to learn how to take jokes but the on dishing out the joke is must know how to read the room and is responsible for their words. They must be ready for the consequences, whether it's laughs, boos, or confrontation. We don't need a listen in all the awful shit people try to get away with in the name of a 'joke' and we also don't need people throwing fits every time they are the butt of a joke. But some jokes go too far or hit a nerve, it happens. A good comedian will apologize or accept blowback when a joke hits harder than they intended, even insult comics.

I have more commentary but it might be inappropriate for this place.

[draynay]

I think Nikki Minaj puts it into perspective.

I tried not to laugh but it wasn't possible, not words I ever expected to read.

[Dangg]

Come on guys, it's obviously staged.

The only such events which wasn't is Kanye's interruption.

[PACOX]

Imagine unironically defending Will Smith.

Imagine thinking it's something that people need to actually take sides on

[BeepBoo]

But some jokes go too far or hit a nerve, it happens.

No such thing. Because everyone is different and has different psyches, this absolutely has to be an all-or-nothing approach as far as law goes. Either nothing is fine to joke about because some twat out there gets insulted when someone calls his mom fat OR insulting someone's dead mother with very touchy and personal subject material. There is no in-between and I'm not gonna have to stomach litigation for every situation that arises trying to navigate "well, WE (some random group of people) determined this was crossing the line (arbitrarily) but THIS joke over here is entirely fine."

[PACOX]

Eh, tinfoil hat mode on, but no one would even talk about the show without the slap. Gotta rev the engines up somehow. And it wouldn't be impossible for Rock and Smith to arrange the whole thing to play out the way it did. And Smith is like one of 3 actors that could pull off a stunt like that and still be considered likeable by some people.

If it wasn't arranged, that was some lame as fuck behaviour. Gotta protect my wife after I already laughed at the same joke she's mad about, or I guess its couch month for me or something.

Its the Oscars not the Peoples Choice Awards.

[confety]

When you joke about someone specifically you risk that person or someone close to it slaps you

How is this anything new

[Fencers]

It's a double standard, if it was a white guy who did it twatter would be exploding with racist rhetoric. But since will smith is black its somehow more acceptable to assault someone on stage for a joke.

Whoa, whoa. I do not agree with this at all.

I think the difference is as I stated originally- Will Smith has a lot more likability than Brody or Gibson. I do not think that has anything to do with race or ethnicity.

- - - Updated - - -

I think Nikki Minaj puts it into perspective. She tweeted this about the incident:

I think she is wrong and that quite is awful. Behaving as Smith did I do not think is any more or less being a "man" and the implication passive or otherwise that Smith's actions are masculine is toxic.

That's so awful. I get being upset someone insulted your partner. But the way Minaj contextualized it is damaging.

[Aurgjelme]

I think that if the Smiths would have explained to Chris Rock in their speech that alopecia is a auto immune disease it would have made Chris look a lot more like a fool than he did now. But when he reacted with his fist instead of his wit then hwe kind of lost any chance he had to seem reasonable.

I think it especially bad seeing how many kids Will Smith has influenced over the years to react differently than this.