Will Smith smacks Chris Rock

Chris Rock is a funny guy, and sometimes his jokes get right up to the edge. If he joined this forum, he would be suspended in the first hour.

If you want to watch one of his funniest routines, search You Tube for his "How not to get your (blank) kicked by the police". Sorry - can't post a link as I like it here.
 
Chris Rock is a funny guy, and sometimes his jokes get right up to the edge. If he joined this forum, he would be suspended in the first hour.

If you want to watch one of his funniest routines, search You Tube for his "How not to get your (blank) kicked by the police". Sorry - can't post a link as I like it here.

His "Bring The Pain" video from the mid-1990s is one of the funniest stand-up routines I've ever seen...
 
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Will Smith has been held up as a "role model" for a long time.

I think it's sad that he chose to resort to violence in response to words he found offensive. This doesn't help the problems among the young people who look up to him. When they make the same choice it destroys their futures and communities.

I'll stop there out of respect for forum rules.
 
I think there is a lot to ponder here in this situation and some of it is getting glossed over in bits.

Chris Rock has literally been a paid, professional, high level comedian for some three decades, so if we could for just one minute strip away the emotion, the guy was literally hired specifically for this role.

He wasn't a random celebrity that got up on stage and said something personally offensive on a whim. He's a guy that was hired to MC the show and crack jokes and he was hired on the basis of a life time of work doing precisely that.

Meanwhile, on live television and then spread like wildfire across social media, we have the offended party who literally assaults him without question.

Will Smith is a large guy and he's got a long reach and a large hand. Props to Chris Rock for taking the slap like a man and not only handling the physical assault, but ROLLING like a seasoned professional with the show.

Will Smith later gives a teary eyed and extremely emotional acceptance speech for his award and doesn't say even half a peep that might be construed as an apology, but certainly gives full effort with regards to all the pressure he feels he is under.

The article/recap I read said that any celebrity of note that showed any care towards the event was in consoling Will Smith.

Chris Rock elected to press no charges.

Looks like planet Earth got to see a black man violently assaulted and it is the news of the day.

I don't know where one would go to find the public consensus, but it seems like the S&W Forum consensus is on the side of Will Smith for "standing up to a bully."

I'm not on that team. I would be far more convinced in that argument if Will Smith confronted Chris Rock back stage rather than a cheap shot slap on live TV.

It's also duly noted that allllllllll of us regular folks couldn't care one tiny little bit what the Hollywood Elite do on a Sunday night and I completely agree that all of them live in a different world than we do, and yet here we are posting about it. Even the folks who claim to care zero about it are posting in the discussion.
 
I just feel really bad for the hundreds of people that had to witness that on their TV screens at home.

Believe me, anyone watching the Oscars and other movie and TV award shows will see and hear things worse than a staged publicity slap.

Seems to me you may have missed the tongue in cheek humor in my post. The key word was "hundreds".
 
I didn't watch the show

So I don't know the particulars.

But if someone insulted your wife, husband or significant other, in public, on television, what would you do?

1. Sulk
2. Verbally admonish the guilty party (in public).
3. Sue.
4. Commit assault and battery.
5. Hire Vladimir Putin to poison him.
 
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When I was a kid growing up a nasty mouse would buy you a knuckle sandwich perhaps we need a little more of that in our society today
I agree with what you said but apples and oranges? These two aren't 11 years old and this wasn't a playground.
 
So I don't know the particulars.

But if someone insulted your wife, husband or significant other, in public, on television, what would you do?

1. Sulk
2. Verbally admonish the guilty party (in public).
3. Sue.
4. Commit assault and battery.
5. Hire Vladimir Putin to poison him.
Will Smith did three of the five you listed. #3 seems unlikely, #5 seems unlikely also.
 
I'd bet money it was staged. Ratings for the Oscars have been plummeting, and this was just a ploy to generate interest.

Funny you should say that.

Oscars sees rating bump as slap reverberates worldwide | TheHill

Oscars sees rating bump as slap reverberates worldwide

"The Oscars reportedly saw a ratings boost after suffering record low viewership last year, with Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during the awards show dominating headlines the day after the ceremony."


Definitely looks scripted. And both parties would gladly do it for the publicity/notoriety. IMO.

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If I'm guessing, I'll say this was NOT staged.

At the same time, it would be a really easy out for both parties if they hammered out apologies in person and wanted the fastest resolution possible for a "scandalous" Hollywood incident.

If they both agreed to say that it was staged, it would lose steam quickly.
 
I am going with the staged. Look closely how the comedian leaned into the slap knowing what was coming. Tom Henry pointed out several other tells.
 
Perhaps the greatly escalating trend towards no repercussions for your actions is turning. If it wasn't staged, making fun of a sick person deserves a smack. Although it would have been more effective with a closed fist.

Rock took a stance prior to the slap that suggests the whole thing was planned. The video I saw was at an angle that looked like Smith balled up his fist before the strike. What man slaps another man? I myself have never been slapped but I have been punched. I was giving Rock credit for standing up to what looked like an uppercut, instead I learn he was bitch slapped.
 
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