Was "GI Jane" joke really about a medical condition?

[kentuck]

Or was it about the clothes she was wearing?

Chris Rock can be offensive, we know from his past comments.

But, was Will Smith really defending his wife or was he just lashing out in a violent way to something he did not like?

In my opinion, this entire incident is a small dichotomy of what is wrong with the world. It is like Putin invading Ukraine, on a much smaller scale. It was like the insurrectionists attacking our Capitol because they did not like the results of an election. It is a sign of our times. The first thought is to react with violence.

In my opinion, that is the bigger issue.

[eShirl]

1. She was wearing a very beautiful dress. n/t

[kentuck]

2. Therefore...

...no one had a right to say anything about it without being physically attacked?

[eShirl]

4. Sure, that's exactly what I said.

/s

Was "GI Jane" joke really about a medical condition?
Or was it about the clothes she was wearing?

[Justice]

65. That makes no sense.

[Justice]

70. Rock said the GI Jane line, landed flat and then said more to try to sell it to the audience...

Rock said, "Jade, love ya, GI Jane 2, can't wait to see it. alright?"

There was muted laughter, uncomfortable reaction, Rock stretched out his hands, laughed - said something I couldn't catch - its __________ [night], that was a nice one, okay and then started "I am here..." and then said "ot oh" as Smith got up and walked toward him.

Not sure what he said - what did he say?

[LisaL]

10. Some liked it, some called it a cabbage dress.

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[Walleye]

3. I thought it was just tacky and low-class. And toxic machismo

[global1]

9. I Liken It To Road Rage....

Good thing Smith didn't have a gun.

Or how about a Karen or Ken anti-masker going off on a plane? Duct tape anyone?

[Walleye]

14. I do worry about civilized behavior breaking down

[uponit7771]

42. +1,

[bucolic_frolic]

5. Bloated self-righteous egos think might makes right

It's about power and control over others, I think. Male dominance?

[vrguy]

20. He is very insecure!

His wife's desire to have an open marriage is one that he obviously..does not want but then why stay with her?

[Bucky]

29. She had an affair. That's not the same thing as an open marriage

She also apologized about her bad personal decision that hurt her husband, and they have since made up. I mean, there's a lot of pain mixed in all the complications in there, but ultimately that's not what this event is about.

[whathehell]

34. .Yes, the bloated, sexist, aggressive ego of Chris Rock

got him his ass kicked last night. C'est la vie.

[uponit7771]

44. +1,

[BlackSkimmer]

6. Whatever, violence was a ridiculous response

Young men thinking violence is a justifiable response to some perceived “diss” is causing a lot of problems in our society today.

Shame on Will Smith for setting such a piss poor example.

[Walleye]

15. 👆

[Wahyee]

22. +1

[NCDem47]

7. Smith poured tons of fuel on the fire for the "angry black man" stereotype.

Ammo for RW/racist/Hate Hollywood types.

[Bucky]

32. I don't see that. He poured fuel on the "Don't insult my wife in front of me" stereotype

Without condoning the violence, we should note it was an open palm slap, not a punch to the jaw or the gut. Rock was humiliated, not harmed. It was a measured response, even if it wasn't a civilized one

[USALiberal]

33. So it's ok to slap people that offend you? Nt

[Bucky]

35. I'm saying don't act uncivilized and then kvetch about others' incivility

Making a punchline about a woman losing her hair from a medical condition can put a new spin on why it's called a "punchline"

[uponit7771]

46. Link and quote Rock ***KNOWING*** about her condition !!

[Bucky]

48. Here

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/play_stupid_games,_win_stupid_prizes

[Betty88]

51. Perhaps I am an old fashioned girl

You don't talk about someone's mom or wife if you don't want a good slap on the mouth.

Talk all you want about me but leave my mom and wife out of it.

[sometripod123]

8. Comedians everywhere be afraid 🤣

Yup exactly. You can’t just react like that. We all think certain jokes are in poor taste but no one assaults bc if it!! No one would be a comedian at all if they knew they could get attacked. Ppl are less likely to speak up and out against “the power” when assault is acceptable. It ridiculous how wrong it in but instead of media realizing the seriousness they just call it “the slap.” One cultural icon just assaulted another. Live. Over a joke. I would rather explain to my kids a boob slip then the legend that is Will Smith out of the blue attacking Chris Rock through his set. Societal norms up upended when we elected a pussy grabber as President and last night another was broken for comedy. This is huge. I think it’ll be a larger discussion on how comedy is becoming even more dangerous in these fascist times.

[Emile]

13. +1 Fascism has no sense of humor.

[whathehell]

75. Fascism does.have a sense of humor..Its humor that

punches down, mocking the pain and weakness of others.

[Bucky]

27. Interesting observations, although "out of the blue" might not be the correct phrase

Anyway, now Rock knows why it's called a punchline

[whathehell]

28. Smith overreacted, but Chris Rock can be a nasty asshole

..and he was being one last night

It's like the RWiingers who entitled to total "freedom of speech" minus the consequences...Doesn't work that way.

[OneBlueDotS-Carolina]

11. This may have some background...

As Rock when he hosted the Oscars a few years ago, ragged on Jada & Will for their boycott of the Oscars, which they claimed lacked diversity, or maybe it was sour grapes as Will wasn't nominated for the movie Concussion. It's what comics like Ricky Gervais, Chris Rock, Amy Schumer...Don Rickles do.... Will Smith was laughing at the joke, then he saw Jada roll her eyes, the rest is history.

I'm sure Quest Love's moment & the folks from the movie Coda, are all really supportive of Will Smith after he stole their thunder.

Will Smith should have been removed from the building. It was his Kanye West moment.

[SYFROYH]

12. I think Will was protecting himself from Jada's wrath after laughing haughtily at the joke.

just one person's opinion.

[Walleye]

17. That explanation makes more sense than anything I've heard

[Bucky]

26. It was a shock value joke. Smith was shocked, so laughing is understandable

Laughing is just releasing tension. That's the whole trick involved in shock value humor. The human brain makes a connection and the human body releases that tension upon reconciling the seeming paradox. Then the social impropriety of the observation adds to the tension and release.

What Will Smith did in response is also funny, because it was about tension and release

[SYFROYH]

58. It wouldn't call that a shock value joke to allude to Jada looking like Demi in GI Jane.

Rock made a movie-referenced joke about an attendee at the Oscars -- totally normal stuff.

[Bucky]

67. You've done an adequate job of pretending not to understand the obvious

Seriously, how do you hang around DU and still not understand the concept of a dog whistle?

[SYFROYH]

69. I understand the concept of dog-whistle, but not in this context.

From wiki:
"In politics, a dog whistle is the use of coded or suggestive language in political messaging to garner support from a particular group without provoking opposition."

Who was Chris Rock calling with his "dog-whistle" of a joke?

[whathehell]

30. Nope, I think he was genuinely offended, and

while I think he overreacted, I think Rock was being an asshole.

[SYFROYH]

60. maybe so, but I think overacted is a bit of a understatement.

Yelling to keep his wife's name out of his effing mouth was overreacting.

Slapping him across the face was assault - a criminal action.

[whathehell]

62. Maybe so, but I think mocking the disabled

is what might be called an "overstatement".

[mainer]

16. Imagine if she'd lost hair due to chemotherapy

Then it’d be more clear that jokes about medical conditions are not funny and it’d be more obvious why Smith was outraged.

[Nictuku]

23. It is a medical condition, that is why she rolled her eyes

It was about her hair, which is caused by a medical condition. She talks about it later in this youtube video, (starts at 2:15)

Alapecia (I think, something like that)

[whathehell]

40. Chris Rock may have learned something last night..

and that may be a good thing.

[helpisontheway]

18. It was about her hair. Demi Moore had a buzz cut in GI Jane. Nt

[AlexSFCA]

21. exactly, only her character chose to do it and Jada can't have hair

“jokes” like chris’s push women like Jada towardsuncomfort of wigs.

[Bucky]

25. Laughing at a woman for her looks reinforces the wrong social values

And if you look at her face, you can see it was laughing AT her, not WITH her

[Solomon]

53. Since I didn't know about her medical condition, I thought it was about a kick ass female

like Pickett played in the Batman series. Why is everybody assuming everyone, including Chris Rock, knew about her medical condition?

[LakeArenal]

19. Will Smith ( whom I've always liike)

Probably has roid rage from bulking up to play Ali. Sadly.

[Bucky]

24. It was about punching down

And sometimes down punches back

[whathehell]

38. Yes, and it's no different than Trump mocking the disabled..

If one sucks, so does the other...No double standards.

[whathehell]

37. Agreed -- Cruel & unfunny. Comedy does have its limits

and Chris Rick may have learned that last night.. Will Smith's behavior was understandable, if not condoneable

[whathehell]

36. Why do you question whether Will Smith was "really" defending

his wife"? Are you loathe to give an honorable motive to a questionable action?

[Tickle]

41. Honestly I thought

I saw him laughing until he looked at his wife who seemed extremely upset. The rest is history

[whathehell]

50. Humor sometimes takes a moment to register..

and when he saw his wife offended, it might have clicked.

[Tickle]

54. Right, makes sense nt

[Bucky]

43. It's because he laughed at the joke at first

But of course people laugh for all sorts of reasons. It could have been a nervous response. It could have been he didn't put together the hurtfulness of the comment in that brief moment. Maybe the slap was a little bit of him being mad at himself for laughing.

This is an easy moment to overanalyze. The reality is that someone got a laugh out of his wife's medical condition and Smith, a powerful man in Hollywood, went up and slapped him for it. It's genuinely not that complicated.

[whathehell]

49. I didn't think it was complicated..I saw attempt to "complicate" it

by the poster. In his questioning of Smith's motive.

[Solomon]

56. Why are you assuming that Rock knew about her condition?

[whathehell]

59. Because she's spoken about it many times, and

because if WE knew about it.I think it's fair to assume he knew about it.

[Tickle]

39. So true what you said

and it’s heartbreaking to think we’ve gone down such a bad path

[Nevilledog]

45. So what's the reaction if Jada had been the one to slap Rock?

Many layers to this.

[Wahyee]

57. Still inappropriate use of violence /nt

[Johnny2X2X]

47. I mean, Chris Rock is small, he's 5-8, 170 lbs

Will Smith is 6-2, over 200 lbs. Would people have had a problem with it if after Will slapped him if Rock had wound up and landed a lucky punch that knocked Will Smith out cold? Would Will Smith have ran up there and assaulted him if Rock was 6-5, 250 lbs?

Seems to me, Will Smith thought since he's larger than Chris Rock, he could assault him.

[RobinA]

52. For Me

this is one of those "a pox on both their houses" incidents. The comment was uncalled for, as was the reaction. It is a sign of the times. Don't like something? Feel like making a nasty comment? You have every right to attack/say it in any way you see fit. Freedom, and all that.

I do think the green dress was hideous, but she looked spectacular in it.

[Samrob]

55. Chris Rock is a comedian, like him or not. He talks about anyone and everyone in jest. We laugh.

His G.I. Joe comment was funny at first to even Will (after seeing the rerun). He could have been even hinting that Jada should play the next G.I. Joe. But the slap by Will was a kind of Philly thug reaction to playing the dozens until it gets to your mama and your wife. Not called for in an adult setting with comedians involved. Will was over the top and out of line. Had he not done what he did the program could have moved on for an enjoyable evening for the honorees. But...noooooooooooooo

[whathehell]

64. Sorry, but "being a comedian' doesn't give one a free pass

to be cruel..

Mocking the disabled is a No-No, whatever you call yourself.

[Bucky]

68. How many microaggressions are excused by "Oh I was just joking"?

*she has a medical condition, not a disability.

But otherwise, yes, Chris Rock thought he was being edgy, when in fact he was insulting a woman about a sensitive subject right to her face. I don't defend Smith's behavior, but he was responding to an incivility with incivility.

No one was harmed physically so it matters should be resolved by this point.

[whathehell]

72. Exactly. n/t

[LexVegas]

61. Doesn't matter. It was a joke. Smith snapped because his marriage is a sham.

It's been building up for years.

[whathehell]

76. Sorry, but "jokes" don't get an automatic pass because

they're categorized as such, and unless you KNOW Will Smith personally, which I doubt, your behavioral "analysis" of him is baseless.

[tinrobot]

63. Exactly, the joke isn't the point. The response to that joke is the issue.

People will inevitably say things that are offensive to others. It just happens.

And those words can hurt, but escalating to physical violence as a response? Unacceptable and a very slippery slope.

[whathehell]

74. Yes it is..If you want to avoid a "very slippery slope"

try not insulting someone's race, gender or disability. Sorry, but there's no free passes for cruelty and bigotry disguised as "humor".

[AntivaxHunters]

66. This whole thing is right out of WWE

and "kayfabe".

KAYFABE

In professional wrestling, kayfabe /ˈkeɪfeɪb/ (also called work or worked), as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. The term kayfabe has evolved to also become a code word of sorts for maintaining this "reality" within the direct or indirect presence of the general public.[1]

Kayfabe, in the United States, is often seen as the suspension of disbelief that is used to create the non-wrestling aspects of promotions, such as feuds, angles, and gimmicks in a manner similar to other forms of fictional entertainment. In relative terms, a wrestler breaking kayfabe during a show would be likened to an actor breaking character on-camera. Also, since wrestling is performed in front of a live audience, whose interaction with the show is crucial to its success, kayfabe can be compared to the fourth wall in acting, since hardly any conventional fourth wall exists to begin with. In general, everything in a professional wrestling show is to some extent scripted, or "kayfabe", even though at times it is portrayed as real-life.

Kayfabe was fiercely maintained for decades, but with the advent of the Internet wrestling community, and the sports entertainment movement, the pro wrestling industry has become less concerned with protecting so-called backstage secrets and typically maintains kayfabe only during the shows. Kayfabe is, however, occasionally broken during shows, usually when dealing with genuine injuries during a match or paying tribute to wrestlers.

[link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayfabe|

[Sogo]

71. It was Chris Rock, for Pete's sake....Everyone (should) expect he's gonna talk sh!t!!

It's his schtick!

How can anyone be offended by Chris Rock?!

[Emile]

73. The joke was nothing, it was the fascist reaction from Will Smith

that's bothersome. I hope Will is seeking more mental health today. He has a history with mental health!