Jada Pinkett Smith Shouldn't Have to 'Take a Joke.' Neither Should You.

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/opinion/culture/will-smith-oscars-roxane-gay.html

No paywall
https://archive.ph/PPDA2

This is not a defense of Will Smith, who does not need me to defend him.

Instead, this is a defense of thin skin. It is a defense of boundaries and being human and enforcing one’s limits. It is a repudiation of the incessant valorizing of taking a joke, having a sense of humor. It is a rejection of the expectation that we laugh off everything people want to say and do to us.

I think a lot about how we are constantly asked to make our skin ever thicker. Toughen yourself, we’re told, whoever we are, whatever we’ve been through or are going through. Stop being so brittle and sensitive. Lighten up.

I’m not talking about constructive criticism or accountability but, rather, the intense scrutiny and unnecessary commentary people have to deal with when they challenge others’ expectations one way or another.

Who is served by all this thick skin? Those who want to behave with impunity. If the targets of derision only had thicker skin, their aggressors could say or do as they please. If we all had the thickest of skins, no one would have to take responsibility for cruelties, big or small. It’s an alluring idea to some, I suppose.

*snip*

[exboyfil]

1. Nobody asked either of them to accept what Chris Rock said

They had the power of their feet and they have a bigger megaphone than Chris Rock. I do agree that Will Smith and his wife shouldn't have to sit through an insulting comedy routine to be a nominee for an award.

Instead Will Smith decided to disrupt the Oscars and physically assault and batter another SAG member.

[dem4decades]

2. Let's make a case of assault about skin thickness. I'm tired of the excuses. Assault.

Take the rest to the trash. Gail King today wanted to talk about how the attack escalated. Jim Carrey was having none of it, he declared "What escalation, it was an attack".

[uponit7771]

3. Rock has 6 months to file a charge, I'm praying he does now because dumb assed people think

... assaulting someone is OK if you're "insulted" without threating words

[steampunk]

4. My take is Jada Pinkett is a big girl and can take care of herself.

She's been a successful Hollywood actress a long time and endured all the traps of the profession (Harvey Weinstein). I think she's more than strong enough to handle a bad joke at an awards event.

As far as Will Smith. Who doesn't love his infectious smile and the great things he's done for the community. But we have to consider. Maybe, in real life, he's just an asshole.

[uponit7771]

6. +1, both of them getting up and walking out until break would've been a boom louder and

... more effective than assault.

I lived in Texas people have NO IDEA who carries

[Skittles]

8. thank you

this excusing of toxic masculinity is fucking nonsense, and I have long thought Will Smith to be an asshole

[Quixote1818]

12. Very well said! nt

[SoonerPride]

5. They could boo. Loudly.

That’s how you show displeasure.

Not assault.

[sop]

7. When did awards ceremonies turn into comedy roasts?

"It is a tradition that hosts and presenters at awards ceremonies use their platform to, at best, poke fun at those in the audience and, at worst, insult, disparage, impugn, denigrate and humiliate them in a way that often takes one’s breath away.

"It’s funny, but cruel, and by most common standards, it is nothing short of bullying. On stage, and with a microphone in hand, a person is in a position of insuperable authority. Possession, in this instance, is ten-tenths of the law. Their victims are, literally, sitting targets, who have to take it all in good part. If they don’t, they are marked out as bad sports.

"And so, those who Ricky Gervais insulted in his years of hosting the Golden Globes – that is, virtually everyone in Hollywood – and those who have been the butt of jokes at every awards evening from the Baftas to the Brits, and even at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, have had to sit there and smile weakly in case the camera caught them visibly upset at the casually tossed jibe. Look at him! He can’t take a joke!"

https://inews.co.uk/opinion/will-smiths-oscars-slap-signal-end-of-comedy-roast-1544203

[ripcord]

9. Being a comedian means never having to say I'm sorry for insulting people

If they can't do any better than mocking physical appearance are they really that funny? Maybe they can start doing physical comedy like the Three Stooges and finally they can devolve into running freak shows. Maybe Chris Rock can do his next comedy special from in front of a chemo clinic where there are plenty of bald people for him to make fun of.

[dixiechiken1]

10. "Who is served by all this thick skin?"

In my experience, pretty much anyone/everyone who lives in the real world.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

11. Agreed

Because she can't do anything about her medical condition jokes should be off limits.