Will Smith hits Chris Rock over Jada Pinkett Smith joke

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#2893352 29-Mar-2022 08:43

"Let me tell you something, it's a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a comedian," Kathy Griffin wrote on Twitter. "Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theatres."

I agree - comedian's push the boundarys - I like Jimmy Carr and he absolutely roasts some members of the audience. Imagine if they got offended by it and came on stage. What next? Someone pulls a knife? A gun?

I really like Will Smith but will this be his jumping on the couch Tom Cruise moment?

(FWIW I like Tom Cruise too - as an actor)

openmedia

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#2893362 29-Mar-2022 09:18

MikeAqua:

Lias:

I'm sure others will disagree but I take no issue with smacking someone for insulting your wife to her face. Then again I'm a believer in "talk sh*t get hit" and support bringing back duelling :-)

I agree 100%. I think in this case, Rock's joke was in poor taste because Jada Pinkett Smith has alopecia, hence her hair style. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

I thought Smith was very restrained with just one slap. Adjusting his tux as he walked back to his seat was very Bond-like. He should get an extra academy award, for being badass.

Watched this with my wife last night and she thought Chris Rock was seriously in the wrong.

I then told her about his previous attacks on Jada and she was surprised Will only hit him the once.

It is a tough call, but we need to move on from this kind of "comedy" perpetuated by comedians like Rock.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

MikeAqua

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#2893364 29-Mar-2022 09:19

logo:

I agree - comedian's push the boundarys - I like Jimmy Carr and he absolutely roasts some members of the audience. Imagine if they got offended by it and came on stage. What next? Someone pulls a knife? A gun?

This has got me thinking.

I don't think I've ever heard a comedian mock a woman's physical appearance, especially one attributable to a medical condition. Maybe an occasional dig at an item of clothing.

Mike

heavenlywild

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#2893365 29-Mar-2022 09:21

Considering Will Smith had to take time to walk up the stage to slap Chris Rock, it shows he clearly lacks self control. Yes, we all get heated in certain moments, but considering the context the joke was made in, and the audience of millions,

Will's actions should not be condoned. Everyone's there for a good time, and Chris was simply doing what a comedian is supposed to do - roast people for a laugh.

Update: Will should've gone up to stage and say to Chris, "Come on man, this is a serious disease", and that would have been a respectful way to make a strong statement.

dt

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#2893369 29-Mar-2022 09:38

Meh, Will Smith showed his true colours yesterday, he's an egomaniac who preaches the exact opposite of his behaviour. He laughed at the joke first then saw how pissed his wife was.

Comedians hosting award ceremonies have always been no limits and it comes with the territory of being apart of it. was it bad taste? yes. did he mean to insult her honour? no way. it was a joke and everyone laughed. if she had laughed too Will would have got on with the night with no regrets. hindsight is a curse but he could have had a word with him during commercial and no doubt Chris having enough class as he does would have apologies on camera for the world to see, a win for them both.

Random side note, I've always found Denzel Washington to be an incredibly wise man and something he said to Will during the commercial break is really going to stick with me ''Be careful at your highest moment… that's when the devil comes for you.''

Actually as I typed this, I still believe Will's an egomaniac but damn I guess the pressure to win after all these years must have got to him.

All this aside though, is it just me or does the slap look incredibly fake the more you watch it? from the moment he stood up to the moment he sat down, seems way to casual, as well as Chris's posture.. was like he stuck his face out waiting for the 'slap'

Dratsab

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#2893376 29-Mar-2022 09:51

logo:

"Let me tell you something, it's a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a comedian," Kathy Griffin wrote on Twitter. "Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theatres."

I agree - comedian's push the boundarys - I like Jimmy Carr and he absolutely roasts some members of the audience. Imagine if they got offended by it and came on stage. What next? Someone pulls a knife? A gun?

If you like the way Jimmy Carr roasts members of his audience, try some Frankie Boyle.

K8Toledo

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#2893380 29-Mar-2022 10:06

WyleECoyoteNZ:

From what I've heard, Smith hit Rock after the latter made a joke about Smith's wife looking something like GI Joe.

Jada Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia. So was Rock's joke in bad taste ? I'm not saying that excuses the strike, but gives it more context

Yes it was in extremely poor taste and imho Chris Rock deserved what he got.

According to the New York Times this wasn't an act.

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1101

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#2893389 29-Mar-2022 10:26

Lets all calm down.
It was a slap. Not a punch , not a gunshot. It was harmless, just putting him in his place
Chris Rock wasnt hurt or affected physically . He was put in his place.

Perhaps if more people were given a good slap we'd have less BS from those who say & do whatever they want .
Its about lack of respect & consequences,

Consequences for our words and actions, remember when that was a thing ?

Chris Rock is taking like a man ,accepting he got what he deserved , not whining about it like so many who werent involved

Kiwifruta

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#2893400 29-Mar-2022 10:39

dt:
Meh, Will Smith showed his true colours yesterday, he's an egomaniac who preaches the exact opposite of his behaviour. He laughed at the joke first then saw how pissed his wife was.

Comedians hosting award ceremonies have always been no limits and it comes with the territory of being apart of it. was it bad taste? yes. did he mean to insult her honour? no way. it was a joke and everyone laughed. if she had laughed too Will would have got on with the night with no regrets. hindsight is a curse but he could have had a word with him during commercial and no doubt Chris having enough class as he does would have apologies on camera for the world to see, a win for them both.

Random side note, I've always found Denzel Washington to be an incredibly wise man and something he said to Will during the commercial break is really going to stick with me ''Be careful at your highest moment… that's when the devil comes for you.''

Actually as I typed this, I still believe Will's an egomaniac but damn I guess the pressure to win after all these years must have got to him.

All this aside though, is it just me or does the slap look incredibly fake the more you watch it? from the moment he stood up to the moment he sat down, seems way to casual, as well as Chris's posture.. was like he stuck his face out waiting for the 'slap'

It wasn’t a particularly powerful slap, he led with his left foot and slapped with his right hand. For a guy who played Mohammad Ali I expect he’d know how to put together a more powerful slap, when he wants to

I think Chris Rick was out of line, because I don’t think making fun at someone else’s expense, especially their misfortune is comedy.

Dratsab

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#2893412 29-Mar-2022 10:46

Kiwifruta: It wasn’t a particularly powerful slap <snip>

I'm yet to figure out which was more pathetic, the joke or the slap. Some great jokes/memes being slung around about now though. One that actually did make me laugh out loud was:

Q. How can you tell if Chris Rock's been slapped by Will Smith?
A. You can see the fresh prints on his face.

blackjack17

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#2893422 29-Mar-2022 11:03

1101:

Lets all calm down.
It was a slap. Not a punch , not a gunshot. It was harmless, just putting him in his place
Chris Rock wasnt hurt or affected physically . He was put in his place.

Perhaps if more people were given a good slap we'd have less BS from those who say & do whatever they want .
Its about lack of respect & consequences,

Consequences for our words and actions, remember when that was a thing ?

Chris Rock is taking like a man ,accepting he got what he deserved , not whining about it like so many who werent involved

It was assault. You don't put people "in their place" by assaulting them.

You don't hit/slap/kick/throw something at someone because of something they said even if you feel it was hurtful. I teach my 4 year old not to hit people because of what others say, I would expect a grown person on international TV who is a role model to behave better.

He could have verbally retaliated, he is an actor who should be good at words.
He could have approached Chris Rock afterwards to let him know that he felt it was unacceptable.
He could have approached the organizers of the academy awards and let them deal with it.
His wife could have dealt with it herself.

Instead he assaulted someone. He should be charged, heavily fined and the money donated to victims of physical violence.

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dt

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#2893427 29-Mar-2022 11:09

1101:

Chris Rock is taking like a man ,accepting he got what he deserved , not whining about it like so many who werent involved

Good call

PsychoSmiley

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#2893456 29-Mar-2022 11:51

My take:

Both are in the wrong various capacities; Smith because he should have stood his ground other ways, Rock because you don't punch down in comedy.

To me the latter is worse than the former because one wouldn't have happened without the other. Also 'freedom of speech is not freedom from consequence'.

There is also part of me which is absolutely giving Smith a little fist pump because he did the thing that some of us only think of doing.

johno1234

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#2893466 29-Mar-2022 12:15

MikeAqua:

Lias:

I'm sure others will disagree but I take no issue with smacking someone for insulting your wife to her face. Then again I'm a believer in "talk sh*t get hit" and support bringing back duelling :-)

I agree 100%. I think in this case, Rock's joke was in poor taste because Jada Pinkett Smith has alopecia, hence her hair style. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

I thought Smith was very restrained with just one slap. Adjusting his tux as he walked back to his seat was very Bond-like. He should get an extra academy award, for being badass.

Sorry but a man slapping another man can never be badass, whichever end of the spectrum one looks at it: it's either toxic masculinity or he fights like a girl.

gzt

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#2893470 29-Mar-2022 12:37

Lias: I'm a fairly staunch supporter of free speech and my favourite comedians often push well past the boundaries of what many people consider acceptable to joke about (Jimmy Carr for instance), but I also believe in "picking the right audience". Should Chris Rock be free to say what he likes about Jada Smith, in jest or not? Absolutely. Does that mean he should be free of consequences for very publicly doing so to her face and her husbands face? Absolutely not.

Responses from multiple comedians this morning indicate they are expecting copycat responses to arise from this. Next time someone takes personal offence at a joke about democrats, republicans, avocados, whatever. I'm aware this is an entirely different category. There were better ways to deal with this. It's unfortunate.

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