Will Smith attempts to justify himself.

[Frasier Balzov]

And fails.

[C_U_L8R]

1. He apologized to everyone but Chris Rock.

Not that Rock deserves it, but it would have been noble.

[catsudon]

82. well

he apologized to the academy and the audience, but not to Chris Rock and he also played the victim. Classic DARVO.

[MontanaFarmer]

2. I can't blame him.

Man insults your wife's medical condition on live tv, kind of a f@#$ around and find out moment. Rock went too far and found out.

[BlackSkimmer]

5. Yeah, punching someone is exactly what anyone would do, right?

[MontanaFarmer]

18. No, not what i said.

What i said is i can understand his reaction. Some little prick mocks your wife for a medical condition, which he knew about, on national tv, it's understandable. Right? Maybe not, but again hard to blame him.

[NoRethugFriends]

73. No, it is not understandable

Only understandable if you accept that violence is a valid response to a non-physical threat.

[MontanaFarmer]

96. I think he overreacted.

It was not premeditated. I think i would react differently but seeing that same look of embarrassment and humiliation on my wife's face, who knows? Thus, understandable.

[Johnny2X2X]

99. Act like an adult

Will Smith acted like a spoiled child who thinks it's his right to physically assault someone for something they said. This is adulting 101, keep your hands to yourself.

I think Will Smith was hurt from earlier jokes told in the show that he might have construed as assailing his manhood.

[wnylib]

60. Technically, it was a slap, not a punch.

[Celerity]

86. +10000000000000000

It also sets a dangerous precedent if he goes unpunished.

Who will be the next performer to be attacked on stage?

[iemanja]

14. Come on

It was a joke, and not a very scathing one.

[MontanaFarmer]

19. Eye of the beholder.

She's clearly sensitive about her condition. Sure he overreacted but i still think it's hard to blame him. How about rock for a bad premeditated joke when he knew better.

[iemanja]

22. Well, she looks fantastic bald.

[MontanaFarmer]

24. Agreed!

[RestoreAmerica2020]

71. Stunningly beautiful! What's this about a medical condition? Not

...up celebrity issues.

Imo.. there was not a damn thing that Smith had to apologize for-- Chris Rock went too far-- the look on Rock's face as he proceeded with show ..was like, damn that guy is going to knock the living lights out of me--fuck, where's the fucking exit!

[MontanaFarmer]

94. Alopecia.

She's lost her hair, which is the reason her head is shaved.

[Duncan Grant]

63. This isn't about Chris Rock. It's about public assault.

I’m not giving Will Smith a pass under any circumstances. He was violent. It was assault. Inexcusable behavior that - under any other circumstances - would result in an arrest. The last thing Will Smith is — is a victim.

[NoRethugFriends]

74. Thank You!

[sammythecat]

77. Completely agree.

Chris Rock's "joke" was fucked up. Will Smith's aggressive caveman response was even more fucked up. More than defending Jada, it seemed he was defending his own "honor". "Keep "my wife's" name outta your fuckin' mouth." That statement and his physical belligerence was telling to me. He was defending himself more than defending Jada, and defending it in an impulsive and juvenile way.

[Diablo del sol]

76. Eye of the beholder - if she wears a wig and Rock makes the joke

100% with you.

Rock referenced a movie where a strong female shaves her head and looks bad ass. So, ignorant, poor taste joke, see that. But Smith could have simply and calmly talked to Rock about it.

[MontanaFarmer]

95. Agreed, i think he overreacted.

I can just understand how and why it happened after seeing the look that crossed her face when he made the joke. Wills response was not premeditated, he just snapped in the moment. A mistake but one that's understandable.

[Maraya1969]

58. Alopedia doesn't just affect the hair on your head. You loose your eyebrows and eyelashes and of

course any other body hair. I think I would have a hard time with that disease and apparently Jada Smith is very upset about it also.

[USALiberal]

91. Nice try!

[mvd]

3. They always tease each other at the Oscars

Didn’t seem worthy of that reaction!

[xmas74]

37. Rock and Smith have previous beef

Jada has been very public about her hair loss and has been visibly upset in the past.

Violence is wrong but I also understand what it's like to lose your temper over something that didn't seem so awful on the surface.

[BlackSkimmer]

4. Wonder if he had one too many drinks?

He seems to have forgotten all about Ukraine.

Sure is full of himself.

[womanofthehills]

101. Probably has a history of being super reactive

We all know over reactive people and it’s never a one time thing.

[lindysalsagal]

6. Strange, how they covered the screen w oscars title page

Was it the length of the speech? The content?

[Doc Sportello]

8. This broadcast seems to have lot of technical issues n/t

[iemanja]

16. Here's what happened

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/chris-rock-punches-will-smith-oscars-fight-1235216387/

[lindysalsagal]

26. Right, but they covered during his acceptance speech.

Wonder why?

[iemanja]

31. Maybe they were afraid he was going to say something

untoward?

I didn't watch it, but I've read a few bits online.

[lindysalsagal]

34. They didn't silence him, just posted the oscars logo.

[Mr.Bill]

50. We saw the whole acceptance speech

here on the west coast.

[kentuck]

51. Another uncensored video:

[iemanja]

54. Smith looks unhinged to me

I think Denzel had it right. The devil came for him.

[Doc Sportello]

7. Like I said in another thread - this could have been brewing

If Rock had been making these jokes before it could have just finally been enough. I also thought he was being protective of his family, which is what he said. Doesn't justify it but I can understand.

[ChazII]

12. I agree 100%

with you. It does not justify but I can understand.

[MontanaFarmer]

21. Exactly.

An overreaction, but understandable given the totality of the circumstances.

[highplainsdem]

9. Sickening speech, after his tantrum.

[Duncan Grant]

64. Agree. Violent gaslighting narcissist, imho.

Will Smith is an appalling liar. His actions were completely antithetical to his gaslighting “I’m a victim” crap. There is no excuse for his behavior. None whatsoever.

[BigmanPigman]

67. They should take the Oscar back until

be apologizes to Chris, takes anger management classes, and is suspended from The Acadamy.

That speech was 100% BS, especially after what he just did. I hope his career goes down the drain. No excuses for behavior like that. He should be punished, if you or I did the same thing we'd be in mail right now.

[Owl]

108. Totally agree.

[Greybnk48]

10. Will Smith's behavior was inexcusable.

What an asshole. He's been in show business his whole life, and he can't take a joke from a comedian? And that joke was VERY mild. I hope Chris Rock presses charges.

[missingthebigdog]

23. I don't know if I would call it mild....

Rock didn’t make a joke about Will Smith, he made a joke at the expense of his wife, who has struggled publicly with her hair loss due to alopecia.

Will Smith shouldn’t have hit him- no one should hit anyone. But as someone who has loved ones who struggle with disabilities, I have to admit that I understand the impulse.

[Greybnk48]

47. With so many people shaving their heads nowdays, did Chris Rock

KNOW she had alopecia? Did Will Smith know he knew, or was it an honest mistake on Chris Rock's part? He thought he was making a harmless joke based on Demi Moore's famous shaved head for G.I. Jane?

I think Chris Rock should apologize to Jada Smith for his faux pas, and then file criminal charges against Will Smith.

[xmas74]

57. She publicly announced it a few years ago. Nt

[wnylib]

66. Whether or not Chris knew about the

reason for the baldness, it was a stupid, humorless remark.

The first thing I think about when I see a bald woman, or a woman with very short peach fuzz hair is cancer and chemo, or surgery that required head shaving. Not something to publicly ridicule someone for.

When I was a child, my great aunt who was in her 70s, stumbled and fell down our stairs. She needed several stitches in her scalp and all of her long, past shoulder length snow white hair was shaved off in the hospital. She had other injuries as well from the fall and was diabetic. It was several weeks before she was able to come home.

Before my parents went to pick her up, my siblings and I got a lecture on how to behave when we saw her with very short, white peach fuzz hair. Prior to the fall, it was straight and she wore it wrapped in a bun during the day. At night, she took it down and my sister and I enjoyed brushing it. So my mother warned us that it was growing in curly, due to damage to the hair follicles from the fall.

We were warned NOT to stare at her. Above all, we were NEVER to say a word about it because she was so distressed and embarrassed about her appearance. And she knew that, at her age, it would never grow back to the length before the accident.

Whenever she went out in public, she wore a hat. In winter, it was for warmth since she lacked hair protection. In summer, it was for appearances and protection of her scalp from the sun because it was not only short, but thin from damage to hair follicles, so that her scalp scar was visible.

It is psychologically and emotionally traumatic for women to become bald.

[Bettie]

106. It was a huge trend in the last year or so

Lots of famous women shaved their heads or partially did so.

I chose one article, but a quick google will show many of them over the last year or year and a half. It isn't always traumatic and not everyone knows everything about everyone.

Is there any comedy that is acceptable? I mean, there is literally nothing that won't offend someone.

https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/gallery/female-celebrities-with-shaved-heads

[FreeState]

53. Agreed

His acceptance speech turned me off too.

[texasfiddler]

11. Ted Cruz would have been more understanding. NT

[True Dough]

59. +1

He may have even licked Chris Rock's boots.

[Sympthsical]

13. When's the arrest?

Or would that interrupt the after party?

And, as usual, standing ovation for someone who just committed assault in front of millions.

Hollywood is really good at overlooking bad behavior.

[harumph]

41. Hollywood is overlooking bad behavior??

OMG! Stop the presses! I think we have more serious problems than
one entertainer hitting another.

[Sympthsical]

46. And there are other threads for those other problems

I imagine there are tulips through which there must be tiptoeing.

[sammythecat]

78. There are problems and there are serious problems.

Serious, or not as serious, they are still problems worthy of discussion.

[BigmanPigman]

68. Hollywood Elites get away with everything.

They are special people who have a special justice system...just like the GQP. Different rules apply to the elite.

[LiberatedUSA]

88. Remember this is the same Oscars...

…that one year talked about how evil owning “assault weapons” was, while they had guards armed with those very guns.

[ProfessorGAC]

102. Rock Said He Won't Pursue Charges

So, there'll be no arrest.

[spooky3]

15. Congratulations to Will Smith for winning Best Actor.

I loved King Richard and thought he was amazing.

Sad incident with Rock, if it was not staged.

[RainCaster]

17. It was all about justification

They're was nothing there about peace or love. It's a tragic display of how one bad moment can ruin years of good stuff.

[Johnny2X2X]

20. Chris Rock should

Chris Rock should make 2 hours of standup about Will and Jada Smith and take it on tour.

Dude assaulted you in front of millions of people. It’s open season.

[missingthebigdog]

28. This is EXACTLY what's wrong with the world.

Why would it be okay for Chris Rock to continue making fun of Jada Pinkett Smith? It’s okay to attack the family of people you have beef with? She is somehow responsible for her husband’s behavior?

If Rock feels assaulted, he should do what every other American has a right to do: make a police report. Call the prosecutor and ask for criminal charges to be filed. File a civil lawsuit.

[Johnny2X2X]

93. What's not OK is for people to claim they can control what others say with violence

Is it a joke I would have told in public like that? No, but the comedy world is full of people pushing the envelope. Will and Jada Smith are public figures, that joke should be no big deal to them. I mean, there's nothing wrong with a bald head, making a joke about starring in a sequel to a movie with a bald headed character isn't some grave insult, it's simple in slightly poor taste. There's about 100 things between Will Smith and his wife that would be much more offensive.

I was more offended by the way Will Smith acted afterwards, like it's his right to commit acts of violence against someone for their words. That's EXACTLY what's wrong with the world, not free speech. It's not your right to assault someone, period, doing so makes you look pathetic and weak.

[Mr.Bill]

30. It wouldn't surprise me if he did. n/t

[Duncan Grant]

65. Agreed, Dave Chappelle has done a lot worse and made bank. NT

[BGBD]

25. Y'all are soft

He barely hit him. Smith could have obliterated him if he'd wanted to.

[Wingus Dingus]

27. Um...it's not about how hard he popped him.

It's the fact that he did it. At all.

[BGBD]

32. He deserved it

There would be a lot less loudmouths like Trump and Tucker Carlson if there were more people willing to tag them when they stepped over the line.

Rock might think twice about using a woman's appearance as a punchline going forward, particularly when it's the result of a medical condition.

[Wingus Dingus]

35. Will Smith could have stood up and walked out.

That would have been the appropriate way to show his disapproval. You can't sit there and wait for your award after assaulting someone on stage and screaming obscenities at the top of your lungs on live TV that's broadcast around the world.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

38. A lot of hypocrisy

Remember when Trump made his "grab em by the ------" remark and Joe Biden said in his day he would beat him up and most posters found it endearing. I guess it depends whose one is being gored.

[Mr.Bill]

40. You're entitled to your opinion,

but you describe a world that I would not want to live in.

[BGBD]

44. I dont know what world you live in

Because in the real one you couldn't expect to be able to insult a guy's wife without a real chance he hits you.

[Mr.Bill]

45. I live in a world where people work out their differences

apologize for their wrongdoing and move on without physical violence.

[standingtall]

81. And in the world you can't assault a guy

without a real chance he shots you.Just saying. No justification for physical assault. If that would've been Dwayne Johnson up there making that joke. Will Smith is if not a tough guy or hero for what he did. He was wrong period. You think Will Smith would've had the same response? I doubt it. Also in the real world if you assault somebody in the line of your occupation you'd probably never work there again unless your an MMA fighter or a boxer or something.

[Jspur]

84. I agree with you but if you are an athlete, celebrity, rich person then you

will get away with assault and still have your career. Granted you will have to pay off the victim. Rules never apply to people who have economic privilege.

[RandiFan1290]

87. You watch too much TV. nt

[BGBD]

98. Feel free to test the theory

Go into your local bar and randomly input the first three women you see with a guy with them. Record findings.

[LiberatedUSA]

89. Don't do that in a state with conceal and carry.

Attacking people over their words is a good way to be shot in self defense. It is why I was worried back when I saw a few stories of people physically assaulting people wearing MAGA clothing when the person has done nothing first. It left an opening for a clever person to put on a gun, dress in offensive clothes, walk to a liberal area and wait for a violent individual to attack them for their clothes. Hook, line and sinker.

[BGBD]

97. Well, I can think of a dozen or more times I've seen

Somebody punched, can't think of any where I've seen somebody get shot.

Sure it's happened, but it's not going to stop someone in a rage.

Of course it works both ways. The person being provoked might just have a gun themselves.

[USALiberal]

92. Lol

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

100. Where I come from, rude behavior directed toward anyone because of a medical

condition is not considered acceptable, and is generally not tolerated.

Someone who has watched their spouse agonize over their condition for years could be particularly dangerous in a situation where some idiot bully publicly humiliates their afflicted spouse because of their affliction.

[highplainsdem]

42. Smith could have shamed Rock by going up to the stage and reminding

everyone of his wife's medical condition. Instead he made an ass of himself, and compounded it with an acceptance speech that couldn't have sounded more phony.

[sammythecat]

79. Best response yer of this thread. n/t

[uponit7771]

107. +1,

[harumph]

43. I'm inclined to agree with you -

might as well let it all hang out. It's not like there's actual crisis in the world.

[tinrobot]

52. Isn't that what happened on January 6th, but in reverse?

Instead of "tagging" Tucker Carlson, the mob went after Nancy Pelosi, among others.

Sorry, but inciting violence just because you were offended is unacceptable -- and a very slippery slope.

[BGBD]

109. Bullshit

A coup is the same as slapping somebody who personally insults you?

[tinrobot]

113. It is when it gets multiplied by thousands.

Each one of those individuals had a similar mindset as Smith - violence is an acceptable solution to the problem.

All the organizers had to do was get those individuals riled up with propaganda and speeches, then point them towards the Capitol.

It is different in that there were organizers, but filter it down to the individual level and there are quite a few similarities. When violent behavior becomes an accepted norm for individuals, then things like coups are much easier to pull off.

[NoRethugFriends]

75. Nice of you to condone violence

[DemocratSinceBirth]

29. Especially because he learned how to box when playing Muhammad Ali in the movies.

And is much bigger than him. Again I don't countenance assault but I would bet a hundred dollar donation to DU I can cite instances where your nominal.DUer would think a slap is understandable but not justifiable. It depends where one draws the line.

[MontanaFarmer]

33. This. Point was made,

nobody got hurt. You don't mock someone's medical condition. Chris rock found that out. Don't feel a bit sorry for him.

[lindysalsagal]

103. I didn't think he made contact at all. I thought it was a stage slap.

He could have put Rock on the floor, but Rock didn't even flinch.

[Mr.Bill]

36. Any actor with any formal training

also learns how to throw and take a hit and make it look much worse than it really was. I have a nephew who has a four-year degree in theater arts and he says they spent a week learning how to fall down in different ways.

[Midnight Writer]

39. I'm sure there is no connection between this story and the one about all-time low Oscar viewership.

[ymetca]

48. Next year:

Oscars Rollerball

[rpannier]

70. That I would watch

I loved the 1975 movie.
Sadly, it seems to get more prophetic everyday
The 2002 movie just sucked in every way imaginable

[Mike Nelson]

49. Agree...

... big fail.

[ForgedCrank]

55. Hmm,

I would have handled it differently.
I would be gunning to do the same thing if someone insulted my wife. However, I would have done it back stage rather than making a public spectacle of it and making thousands of people extremely uncomfortable in the process.
Smith crossed some lines here.
Also I think Chris Rock probably should have done a bit of background first (if he didn't anyway). I think Jada is really upset about the hair loss thing and it's bothering her pretty bad. I get what kind of comedy he does, but that is probably a subject that should have been avoided due to the nature of it all.
A woman going bald isn't the same as it is for a man. We expect it and take the jokes as they come. It's a pretty sensitive thing when it happens to women.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

56. No police report filed

Link to tweet

[calimary]

61. Well, they're both the talk of the town...

[Grokenstein]

62. Chris Rock just reached his Andy Dick stage.

Next year he'll be a seat filler, next to Gilbert Gottfried.

[FreepFryer]

69. And in a moment, all that dignity, grace, art and talent is utterly eclipsed. "Elite," w no class.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

72. It is surprising to me the number of people making excuses for the blatant physical assault of a man

because he offended another with a joke that might be considered in bad taste.

[sammythecat]

80. My feeling too. Exactly. n/t

[Jspur]

83. This was a mindfuck for me since I grew up during the

90's watching both of them as a kid and teenager. If you had told my younger self that one day these two iconic figures in their fields would throw hands, I wouldn't believe it. To me it is still surreal.

Both men were in the wrong with their actions. Chris for cracking jokes on Jada's baldness when it comes to illness. Will was wrong for slapping Chris because he committed assault. I have been in many situations where I wanted to slap the shit out of guys, I didn't like but I kept my cool and handled the situation without throwing hands.

Will ultimately was the biggest loser from this fiasco. Chris' joke wasn't funny, and he would have probably had a high chance of getting cancelled since Jada has an illness he was basically making fun of. If Will didn't hit him then we are talking about how much of cruel ass hole Chris was for that jokes. Will bailed him out by hitting him and now Chris comes across as the victim. Will also ruined his moment of winning an Oscar because it will always be overshadowed by what he did to Chris.

[Cha]

85. Thank you for your

insightful post.

I think they were both horribly wrong.. what the hell was Chris Rock thinking that it would be okay.

And, violence is Not the answer no matter how upset we are.

💙💛

[MustLoveBeagles]

110. Correct on both points

[Cha]

111. Aloha Beagles... Chris Rock agrees in

his apology which I think is humble and sincere.

https://democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=16537848

💙💛

[MustLoveBeagles]

112. That was very sincere and heartfelt

Chris was wrong for telling that joke but Will was also wrong for overreacting it. There were so many better ways to handle this. I believe they are both good men inspite of what's happened and I hope they can work this out between them privatly.

[lindysalsagal]

104. Agreed. Rock knows that GI Jane remark wasn't even funny. His larger crime is

being mean without being funny. Rock usually is hysterical. This was something personal.

[jeffreyi]

90. The wife was clearly uncomfortable being the butt of the joke.

And alcohol may have been imbibed, looked like in the "rerun." So, kind of cruddy behavior all around. Walking out was a better option, seems to me.

[Quixote1818]

105. Chris Rock is tame compared to Ricky Gervais. Wonder how Ricky is even still alive. LOL nt