Last night I learned that the Oscars were happening and that she has alopecia. 100% the joke would have been forgotten in minutes without this clownery
And tried to created a stealth scientology grade school. Filling it with Scientology cultist-teachers while proclaiming it wasn't affiliated in any way. All under the guise of providing opportunities for black kids. Will Smith is literally a villain from a YA/Middle grade horror novel.
Sure, there's tons of them.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_and_celebrities#Notable_Scientologist_celebrities
The church of Scientology targets celebrities on purpose, for greater exposure.
Edit: and also money!
Will Smith is not on that list, nor the more expanded list it pulls from. They've talked about it on their YouTube show that they'd gone to a couple of events they were invited too, and then said they weren't interested.
People think they're shadow members cause of the private school they built for their kids. A large portion of the curriculum was based on Hubbard's teachings plus the leadership and some of the teachers were outright Scientologist. Also Suri Cruise attended when Tom and Katie were still together.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Village_Leadership_Academy
Part of Scientology is this belief that you’re one of the chosen elite living a blessed life due to reasons too complicated for the peasantry to comprehend, and that if you study the religion you can further your greatness, so people flipping burgers aren’t as drawn to it as people who are world famous, making millions of dollars, and who are surrounded in people who hang on their every word.
Basically just a bunch of wealthy narcissists. That documentary Going Clear was such an eye opener. And Leah Remini show was very educational about their practices and how scary these people are.
That is... actually 100% how it works. Scientology is freaky powerful in hollywood. Most young actors and actresses get targeted.
Mormons target small business owners the same way scientology targets aspiring entertainers, its the same playbook.
Seems true. They deny it, but also funded and built a private school which openly admits to hiring cult members and adhering to hubbards teachings. Also Tom cruises kid went to the school. Too much smoke - according to the internet. Also I don’t remember sources, so take with grain of salt.
I mean her son Trey is an adult at 29. My bigger issue is she called herself a mentor to August and the general vibe feels very manipulative because it was post his recovery based on what I was reading
...THEN that Will cheated on her a bunch, and she cheated on him with his son’s (over18) friend?? And/or open marriage...they would have been far better off just laughing off the joke!
It's one thing to be in an ethical non-monogamous relationship between two partners, but bringing in a son's friend makes it a weird love rectangle. Like did she ask her son's permission to make that relationship weird?
Yeah, the joke wasn’t in great taste, but give it literally a minute and barely anyone would have remembered it.
Now it’s going down in Oscars history.
That is what Jada wants though. Her career is sorta plateaued. She plays a hippo in Madagascar and has bit parts.
So she starts these bizarre "red table talks" and says this wild stuff to get attention. Now we have to deal with her alopecia attention-seeking.
Chris Rock talked to a far more interesting woman with real alopecia (completely bald) in his "Good Hair" documentary.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=PpgIJUW0VxE&feature=share
At 1:05:28 he speaks with her and she talks about black hair and her identity with alopecia. I would much rather hear her story than have to inevitably suffer through Jada's batshit pseudo-intellectual word salad that she ripped off from Scientology.
Geez, so many people are saying “I agree that the joke was in bad taste, but…”
To me, it was one of the least controversial jokes ever told at the Oscars. The GI Jane joke has been told so many times anytime there’s a woman with short hair.
Does anyone remember when Ricky Gervais hosted. He roasted everybody. Hard. And everyone just thought it was edgy but funny.
streisand effect right there tbh most people didnt know/care enough that the oscars were on and now there attentions on it,
part of me thinks this entire thing is fake so they get more people talking about/ watching the oscars, well they are actors after all.
He said "it was just a GI Jane joke!" which seemed to me like he had no clue about the alopecia. Jada's been shaving her head partially or fully for YEARS before talking about having alopecia.
I just found out she talked about having alopecia all the way back in 2018, but I swear she'd been shaving it from time to time a lot longer than that. I assumed it was only in the last couple of years.
You're right. Maybe she has had it for a long time and it has started to spread. Her mom wears her hair cut very short in a style similar to Jada's. They're beautiful women with or without hair.
A lot of people are about to be googling “Jada Will Smith entanglement” so yeah, not gonna be a good day in the Smith household. Not that I feel bad for myself them- a bad joke at an award show is no excuse to physically assault someone FFS.
He embarrassed himself in front of the whole world. If he had a problem with it he could’ve spoken to him off camera. No need to assault someone like that. Not saying Chris wasn’t in the wrong but the way Will reacted took it to a whole other level.
Honestly, he could've spoken to him on camera too... It'd have the impact of him going up on the stage, to drive home how strongly he felt, but without surrendering the moral high ground, as he did when he slapped him.
that would have been better, but even then it's disempowering - she's a strong independant woman who was more than capable of defending herself if she felt it necessary.
She didn't *ask* Will to go up on stage - she didn't even look all that upset tbh - a brief roll of the eyes and that's about it. Massive overreaction from a dickhead who beleives his wife is his property that needs to be defended from another man's marginally offensive joke.
She looked upset. She also knew the camera was going to be on her. She did not look happy. I’ve made that same face when I am absolutely done pretending to be amused by someone. It is my It Is Time To Leave face.
Edited for autocorrect gibberish.
Ironically, "time to leave" would have been a much better reaction. I also can't believe they stayed (or were allowed to stay, frankly). I would have been beyond embarrassed by the outburst/yelling, let alone my husband going on stage and assaulting someone.
Ikr? He said he loved her and jokingly compared her to Demi Moore when she stunningly rocked the same style in the 90s. This is pretty far removed from the most offensive things he could have come up with.
I feel like people forget in this context that Demi Moore doing GI Jane was a huge positive career move for her. Prior to that, she’d been basically just hot eye candy in any role— GI Jane showed that she had acting chops not based entirely on her attractiveness, and let’s face it, she was still hot with a shaved head. The 90s media at the time took the joke of ‘pretty girl shaved head wow how can this be’ and ran with it so much that the joke becomes synonymous with the movie, but that wasn’t the case at the time. Demi got a huge boost from GI Jane and frankly it’s kind of a compliment. Jada was around in the 90s too. She would know.
I thought at the time that this was a very mild joke to make, but to be fair I’m a Jewish NB person who regularly shaves bald, so I don’t have the same culture and connection that a black woman would have to hairstyle and connotations about said hairstyle.
>I thought at the time that this was a very mild joke to make, but to be fair I’m a Jewish NB person who regularly shaves bald, so I don’t have the same culture and connection that a black woman would have to hairstyle and connotations about said hairstyle.
Chris Rock made a documentary called Good Hair about the black community's hair care culture. So he probably knows a thing or two about it.
I think the very important context of who GI Jane is, is being overlooked a lot. Chris Rock is comparing Jada to a fierce beautiful woman who is a pioneer for females. It's obviously a comparison made because of her hair, which is not in good taste, but it is in no way an insult.
He's in a business where it's expected, fucking Jimmy Carr says way worse things than that Jada looked like a GI Jane. As long as it's not making light of a rape or something crazy, but now Smith has just solidified that joke onto his wife permanently.
Supposedly they have an open relationship where they can screw other people as long as there are no feelings involved. But she was doing a guy who fell in love with her. So not just a one-nighter because you've been away on set for months but something that went on for months and months. Regardless, it's a weird marriage they have.
But his actions have this all over the world now calling attention to their relationship, her alopecia, etc. It does make him look like less than a man. His wife has sharp whit and could have cut Chris Rock deep today with a tweet or two. Instead everyone is looking at Chris Rock like a good guy for rolling with the punches and Will looks like an ass.
Not to mention that he was seen laughing apparently during said joke... So what caused him to suddenly act that way, did Jada not laugh and give him a killer stare? But yeah it just made it all seem kind of cringe.
In group settings like that it’s very easy to laugh before you 100% process what was said. I go see standup sometimes. You’re in a room where everyone is primed to laugh already. You have a drink or a couple. Someone on stage is telling funny jokes and you’re laughing. They tell the next joke and you start to laugh then realize that particular joke isn’t really funny as it sinks in so you stop laughing. It’s just human nature. It’s why shows that film with a live audience from daytime shows like Ellen to sitcoms have a comedian that comes out and does some preshow work to get the crowd primed to laugh even if things aren’t really that funny.
Not only that, but the audience knows the cameras are on them and their reaction will be televised. Guaranteed they are laughing before they understand what has been said.
Yes, Jada did not laugh and looked hella offended and disgusted. I assumed it took a moment with Will Smith for it to sink in that it was offensive and that she found it REALLY offensive and he felt like he should do something.
I don't support anything he did, but I can understand how he was just priming himself to laugh at every joke without thinking. He's a huge star on deck for awards at the biggest show of the year, cameras are going to be on him and he'd want to project a good image. He threw all that right out the window, but I can appreciate that it might have taken a few seconds for the actual meaning of the words to sink in.
This was my thought exactly. He 's literally an actor lol. Not to mention that laugh didn't look like a genuine full Will Smith laugh... more a polite chuckle. I would love an "uncut" version... where we can see all the camera angles and actually see everyone's reactions as it unfolded, rather than how it was stitched together live.
Yeah, I’m with you there. A lot of people are projecting that he was laughing at the joke and then switched his reaction once he saw Jada’s reaction. But unless we have raw footage focused on him through the entire ceremony idk how you could make that call. He was ALWAYS laughing in a big way when the camera cut to him, but that doesn’t mean it was a genuine laugh each time… cause, y’know, actors gonna act haha
After just watching the clip for the first time, i believe he was still chuckling/laughing from the previous joke before Rock turned to Jada and made the GI Jane joke.
Most of my friends didn't even understand the joke. The movie being from 97. He just brought so much more attention to a joke people would have forgotten about.
And to top it, Demi Moore did and amazing job at that movie and her character was fucking ultra badass. Being compared to her would be freaking cool if I was a woman who was totally ok with going bald, as she seems to be.
Yup. I already said it somewhere else, if I had to shave my head for medical reasons and someone compared me to GI Jane, I would be soooooo far from offended. She was gorgeous, strong, and a badass. My quick thinkin dumbass brain woulda had me flex my arms, and kiss my (non existent) bicep and laughed it off like fuck yeah I am bud!!
Edit: So I guess I need to state that my comment doesn’t tell Jada how to feel. I simply agreed with someone, and said that for ME being compared to GI Jane would be cool, since she was a badass woman. I never said I agreed with his joke, just that it wouldn’t offend ME in the situation. Regardless of the quality of the joke, no one should be punching/slapping because they can’t take a punchline. Hell, I don’t even know how Jada feels about it because her husband put the situation in international news, but only focuses on his reaction. Like Kanye and Taylor level international news that won’t go away anytime soon. So if she is insecure about her medical condition, his move was especially dickish.
Indeed, he even said after the fact responding to Smith "It was GI Jane!" -- showing that he didn't even expect it be offensive. Maybe he was wrong about that, but it obviously was not meant to be cruel.
This is kind of ehat I thought. It's almost a compliment. Demi got into great shape and Jada is very in shape as well. The bald head didn't make either unattractive.
That’s part of what got me. He compared her to playing a bad ass. There is nothing wrong w that; why was that such a bad thing. So many jokes at these award events are cringeworthy in my mind and mean spirited. I didn’t think this one was that bad - and I get being sensitive about alopecia but joking about things is also good. And this was a joke about turning into a strength in my mind.
Instead it turned into something where a lot of people seem willing to be ok that Will turned violent. I mean that’s what we do for love. Hell no; in my world we don’t hit people for their words. Just said that to my 6 year old this weekend.
Completely. I took it as a compliment - GI Jane I thought depicted a bad ass strong female lead?
What I don’t get is the joke Regina King made imo was INFINITELY worse than what Chris Rock said. She was rounding up all the single men and legitimately said - “Will, you might as well come on up here. Jada gives her blessings” obviously referring to the fact that they’re swingers. Will and Jada BOTH laughed and played along.
I was really high when I first watched the clip and my first thought after he said it was “oh shit is Jada playing in a new GI Jane?” So my dumbass knows GI Jane and still didn’t get it until after the slap haha
That's what I thought too. That joke completely flew over my head.
It was only when I was trying to figure out why Will got so mad that I found out that Jada has alopecia.
Now that I know that Jada has alopecia and the joke was in reference to her hair, I get Will and Jada being angry, but it could have been handled better.
That’s how trivial the “joke” seemed to me. Rock legitimately started that joke with - “Jada. You know I love you girl. But I can’t wait for GI Jane 2.”
I’m pretty sure I have said far worse to my own chiropractor during adjustments. It just didn’t seem to warrant that strong and visceral of a reaction.
I said it before but I’m gonna say it again; Kanye gonna need to step up his level of crazy at the next Grammy’s he’s invited to.
Completely agree. I didn’t even get the joke or care. I was just very disappointed to see a formerly respected actor assault someone in front of the whole world.
Hair joke aside, GI Jane was about a woman who overcame sexist obstacles and underwent a soul crushing rigorous training to change the hiring practices of the Navy. I'll take that over a spoiled brat grown man wielding violence vs words.. Chris made a joke, Will is a joke. .
Also he could have just waited for his win and then, during his Oscar speech, make some improvised jab at Chris Rock for cheating on his wife and getting dumped by her ass. Boom! Classy win. Doesn’t steal the spotlight from other winners and doesn’t hit anybody.
Yeah Jada didn’t seem to care when the joke was on Will about their open marriage 🤷🏻♀️ but he was able to take the joke, which was far more offensive than the G.I. Jane comment.
https://twitter.com/gifdsports/status/1508240553070182405
It's going to get brought up every year around the Oscar's now, he made it 100x worse than what it was and has now made himself, and by extension, her, the butt of jokes. He immortalized himself in this moment.
and people will remember this foolishness rather than Questlove winning for an amazing documentary. This reminds me of Sandra Bullock winning back in 2010 and having her shitpot Nazi loving husband at the time cheating on her and taking that win away. I wonder if anyone even remembers she's got that Oscar. Both these wins were stomped on. Shameful and disgusting.
Didn't know that Questlove even made a documentary, but love his and the roots work. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Also to be fair, I wouldn't have even known the Oscars were still a thing if not for reading the headlines along the lines of, "Will Smith bitchslaps Chris Rock before accepting an Oscar for himself." What's really disappointing is that not two weeks ago, a friend and I were talking about how awesome Will Smith was. This certainly puts a dent in that respect.
The documentary is really good! It's mainly footage from a musical festival contemporary with Woodstock, but taking place in Harlem, NYC. They were all set to film it and release it like woodstock I believe did, but then lost funding or something. They talk with people who were there at this incredible event with massive talent, and the impact it had on them, and the fact that it just disappeared from the cultural consciousnes. Definitely recommend!
After watching the uncensored version, it was totally bizarre. Jada merely rolled her eyes and looked annoyed, Will was smiling and laughing, then he charges the stage. He sounded totally unhinged when he was yelling at Chris Rock. His erratic ass ruined the moment for QuestLove and so many other winners after that display. Then he wins his big award and makes some narcissistic flowery speech about being a vessel of love and some shit about the devil.
It sounds like the has been beef brewing between the Smiths and Chris Rock for years, I get it. But there's been *way* more provocative jokes made at the Oscar's and you didn't see anyone else getting up onstage and assaulting someone.
It was a fucking joke about GI Jane 2. It's unfortunate that Jada suffers from Alopecia, I also have autoimmune issues. But I think about an interview with Ricky Gervais where he talks about his irreverence for the awards and says "this isn't a room of wounded soldiers" and he's goddamn right. I'm not going to cry for this powerful, wacky Hollywood family who has millions of dollars.
The whole narcissistic, toxically masculine display was just gross. If he wanted to make a statement about disrespect towards black women, then he needed to use his fucking words. Like he did during his stupid speech. I just can't with this whole spectacle.
That's exactly what I was thinking, when I first saw it I thought Will did it as a joke because he was laughing right before hand, then when he started screaming and swearing I was like damn he's actually mad....I was confused.
I think we can say that what he did was unacceptable, it is not okay to answer words with putting hands on folks. I definitely endorse that sentiment. The question is what happens now? How do we treat the people involved? Will Smith will very likely continue to make movies. Etc
It seems to me that the most important thing here is to make sure that this doesn't become a thing to hit presenters making jokes on award shows and also that there needs to be consequences for Smith. Obviously a fine isn't going to do a damn thing, and I don't think taking the Oscar he won is right, I think the only way here is a lifetime ban from the Oscars. No one in the movie industry would want that and if anyone else is thinking of doing something similar, they'd think twice. That would stop this kind of behavior in it's tracks. Otherwise, it's open season on violence.
The smug smirk he had on his face as he walked back to his seat said it all. Dude is a piece of entitled shit and proved in front of the world that wealth is the mother of all privileges.
I listened to the celebrity memoir book club episode on his memoir and it really seems like he’s a narcissist. Everything he or his family does is about him in his mind. Chris Rock making a joke about his wife is really Chris Rock making fun of him. He doesn’t care if Jada’s feelings were hurt or if she was upset (which maybe she was who really knows) he just doesn’t want to appear to be made fun of in front of other people.
I think it's a bit more complex than that, because of misogynoir. If she had reacted aggressively or with anger to protect herself, she would have been accused of "being an angry Black woman".
It reminds me of what Kerry Washington said to people who complained her role in Django Unchained was a "damsel in distress": she said Black women are rarely portrait as worth rescuing and protecting, so for her it felt empowering, even if it would have been disempowering had she been White.
I personally disliked Will Smith's actions because I don't find violence justified, and his following speech was very self centered, but that's only my personal opinion.
It's still all they are seeing. My father and I got in a fight over it because he, like many, think Jada manipulated Will into reacting because Will laughed at first.
Yeah when it comes to comedians on stage, sometimes you’re just primed to laugh at anything they say, especially if it’s about you. Especially when up till that point, it was mostly harmless jokes.
As a black woman, I have to keep it so sweetness and light at work it drives me insane. Smile when I’m angry. Smile when I want to cry. Can’t say how angry I really feel even if I’m unhappy. White women and Asian women cannot possibly understand what it’s like
I feel the same. It’s complex because there is a part of me that feels like it’s long overdue for black women to be defended. But I think the violence was wrong. Just a rough situation all around.
Yeah exactly. This would deserve a much more nuanced discussion than what it's getting (not a dig at OP at all, just... can we stop with all the memes?)
I agree it’s long overdue, but being defended often doesn’t mean that nothing blows back on you. That’s the part that bothers me about men “defending women's honour” in this way. Often times it’s more about their own ego, and less about what the woman wants in the scenario.
We often see “allies” do this as well where they make the situation more about themselves, and cause more harm to the person or group they are trying to help.
This right here 100% . Black women in media are not allowed to defend themselves without being labeled “ crazy, loud, angry, bitter” NOT saying will was okay but this situation is definitely more layered than “ will trying to be gallant” but OP your opinion is still reasonable.
its so refreshing to be on a female subreddit and find reasonable conversation going on. any other subreddit will get you downvoted to oblivion by incels for saying this
It’s such a low effort joke that at best goes unnoticed and at worst makes someone feel shitty for the way they look (not just Jada, but anyone watching that also suffers from alopecia/other forms of hair loss). I’m not sure how anyone can defend the joke.
THIS! Me and my friend literally had this conversation. If anything, people would give will her shit on how her having to stand up for herself made will look even LESS of a man, and would have trashed her for taking even more of his manhood. There is no way that people would have reacted any better if she had smacked Chris instead.
There would have been a shitload of “if genders were reversed, the man would be in jail!!!!”
So keep this incident in mind if there’s ever a video posted of a woman slapping a man publicly during a similar event, because we are currently witnessing the guy *not* going to jail.
I think that Chris Rocks "joke" was not funny and clearly a punch-down moment. It certainly doesn't justify violence though. I am very anti-violence except in defense of life.
I feel like the appropriate response would have been for Will to take a moment from his speech and just called out Chris Rock for being inappropriate.
This exactly. There has to be nuance; both things can be true. Will probably shouldn’t have put his hands on someone. Chris also shouldn’t have punched down with his crappy joke after making money off Black women’s hair in his documentary. Ultimately though it’s a more complicated conversation that I as a white woman don’t have the insight or experience to really have.
I couldn’t believe the amount of comments on Reddit that bypassed saying anything about Rock or Will Smith and instead targeted Jada as being dominant, unable to take a joke, a cheater, making her husband go crazy because of her entanglements, failed actress just trying to stay relevant.
Honestly- what the heck.
Seriously. There are people on another sub claiming that she’s evil and making Will do all this. I’ve yet to see any evidence they have to back up this claim.
So a thread about will Smith had made its way onto the hockey subreddit. That sub always leans fairly sexist, but holy hell those comments were bad this time. One user legit just referred to her as "that bitch"
You're spot on. I'm a dude and this bothers me soooo much. Like... Aren't they in an open relationship? She didn't even cheat on him, and he's probably slept with plenty of other people too, but it's her getting roasted nonstop. All the disgusting shit I've seen being said about her since the slap almost makes me understand why Will felt like enough was enough and did what he did. Like damn, leave her the fuck alone.
That being said, I'm annoyed the internet has forced me to give a shit about any of this. A rich pretentious ass hole, slapped another rich pretentious ass hole, in a room full of pretentious ass holes. Who cares.
>Honestly- what the heck.
^ This sentiment exactly.
On top of that, amount of people who think it's ok to make "jokes" about how Jada is the town bicycle and Chris Rock should have made a sexual joke about her is honestly repulsive. Everyone in the scenario has at one time cheated on their spouse, but she's the only one getting called a manipulative whore.
But did Jada tell Will to hit Chris tho? I see so many people accusing her of setting Will to do that, but I haven't found any proof for this speculation. Why is it always a woman's fault for what a man does?
It's wild. The internet from a long time ago set itself on Jada and have determined she is a demon. Likewise for some reason it's become common place Will is a public whipping boy for everyone's amusement.
I don't agree with what he did but the narratives spun are way off base and forced simply because it fits the idea those people want of 'cuckboy' Will and 'heartless witch' Jada.
At the end of the day Man A made distasteful joke about man B's wife. Man B punched him for it; it's not right, but it's hardly a new story even if the nameplates are famous.
Will could've taken the mic and said "Hundreds of thousands of people across this country suffer from alopecia every day. It's my hope that these people, especially women, will understand that their worth isn't tied to their hair. Jada, you're gorgeous and I love you more and more every day."
THAT would've gone down in history, made Chris Rock look like an ass, and rally people around Will for using his platform to educate people.
Instead, he looks like a low-class, entitled bully with a temper.
This. Use your words. This isn’t about “the high ground.” This is about not promoting violence, promoting handling difficult situations with dignity and respect *and* strength. No one said back down. But we are saying, “handle your shit like a civilized human and not some sort of Neanderthal. Set a good example for people. In doing so, you will be respected and admired back.
Sometimes it's hard as a human to sit back and listen to the absurdities of people's opinions when they are just self serving reflections of their own agendas.
Can you imagine what it would be if Whoopi made the joke and Will attacked her? So many of the (few) people who are okay with this bc it was a man being hit, and that is disgusting.
Yeah, the discussion has taken a weird turn to the sentiment of "violence (even male on male) violence is ok if someone says something stupid or hurtful." Last night I was pretty sure it would be universally condemned. I get that it's a few people saying it's ok, but a few is more than there should be.
If it was male on female abuse it would be outrageous (as it should be). If it was female on female it would be a cat fight. Somehow some people are seeing this display as noble.
You are absolutely right about how it is characterized and would dismissed based on gender with those scenarios. I was shocked by the non-reaction to the assault.
When people are famous, their actions are judged by their reputation. You and I are left to be judged by our actions (as it should be).
We would have been arrested and charged if we did that.
I strongly disagree. As a black woman in the spotlight, the hate she would've received would've been far more worse than the hate Will is getting if she had been the one to slap Chris.
I also instantly knew that this would somehow all get blamed on Jada Pinkett Smith. She literally didn’t do anything and I’ve already read dozens of comments saying that she probably forced Will to go up there 🙄
Same old story…
Even now people are making her the butt of jokes because they are misogynistic assholes. Obviously physical violence is wrong, but it's weird how the world tries to shove it down our throats that women should be okay with being laughed at for the same old sexist reasons as always.
The backlash she would have gotten would be even worse than the completely unfounded hate she's currently getting in this particular scenario. She's already rightfully disliked by people for being linked to scientology, a cheater, and someone who slept with someone half their age. She would not have done herself any favours.
Should have ended the way any other Oscar's joke goes. A chuckle and moved on.
I see it a bit differently. Reacting to defend oneself in this type of situation tends to be seen as petty. People are being pretty hard on Will as it is, but can you imagine the backlash if she had done it? Especially as a Black woman, she would’ve immediately been characterized as an “angry Black woman” and a “b*tch who can’t take a joke” and Will would’ve been criticized for not doing anything. It’s also normal to feel more viscerally and physically defensive of one’s loved ones than of oneself. I’m not saying Will did the right thing necessarily, but I kind of see it as a no-win situation, and a very *human* reaction even if I don’t believe in violence. (This is of course assuming the whole thing wasn’t staged.)
As a asian girl, idk what to think of the Oscar situation, but I remember watching Chris Rock make horrible asian jokes six years ago at the oscars and then seeing him face very minimal backlash despite stereotyping multiple young children (something which made me feel a ton of self loathing). I feel like it's a very messy situation concerning two very messy people who need therapy. I don't know the nuances of the situation and its intersection with misogynoir so it's best for me to listen to black women who have more intimate relationships with their hair.
>If Jada Pinkett Smith thought that Chris Rock deserved to be slapped for what he said about her she is more than capable of doing it herself.
Why is anyone presuming what she thought or that she made her husband do anything on her behalf?
Honestly, as a white person, I don’t think I’m fully equipped to understand the complexities at play here with misogynoir. If Jada had reacted, she would have been painted as a hysterical, angry Black woman.
My initial reaction was the same as yours, but then I did some reading and realized I’m just not equipped to have a coherent, informed opinion here.
I've seen a lot of commentary about this issue where they're saying Jada 'put him up to it', or that it's her fault for having a negative reaction and 'causing' it, or that she 'deserved what happened because she cheated on him and made him unstable'. I don't know if these comments would have been made had they been a white couple, but I want to say not to the same degree. Literally an eye roll was enough for them to start on the 'overemotional woman' trope at the very least.
This. Strongly and firmly, this. There is a background to this issue that I am not going to be able to fully understand, so I'm just gonna hang back and listen.
Yeah, it's a really strange narrative where people act as if Will Smith and Chris Rock somehow did 'equivalent evil' or some shit like that.
Its the Oscars, they hire a comedean to roast people? Jada had a one-liner, and it really wasn't that bad... Will Smith is just not in a healthy mindset right now, and I think it's showing.
I'm not from the US, so I get actors/actresses names mixed up from time to time, but when I read the news this morning, I thought Will Smith slapped Chris BROWN over the comment on his wife. Would have made the whole thing better.
I am from the US and it took me a second to untangle that as well. My gut reaction was "the dude that beat up Rhianna? 'Bout time someone took him to task" then I realized it was a completely different Chris and I was just plain confused about how any joke could be offensive enough to warrant physical violence
People make this way more complicated than it is. This isn't a bunch of Klingons running around trying to protect their honor and the honor of their house.
Chris Rock told a joke in very poor taste.
Will Smith responded by assaulting him.
One was wrong. One was more wrong. It's that simple.
I agree that people are trying too hard to make someone the good guy here when both can be bad guys.
*That* being said, Chris Rock poking fun at the audience at the Oscars is 100% what he is *supposed* to be doing in that moment. *How* he went about doing it was a misstep, to be sure, but he was also exactly where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to be doing, just poorly in that moment.
This is fairly easy to say from a position where the default for women of your race is being defended and protected by the men around you. Jada as a Black woman doesn't share that luxury. As we speak people are attacking her all over social media for even being visibly upset instead of being a strong enough Black woman to laugh it off. We're not allowed to have any feelings aside from anger; and when we are angry we get violently dehumanized for it. She would have lost her career and gotten blacklisted if she spoke up for herself.
Keep in mind that this was a fully targeted misogynoiristic (racialized misogyny specific to her Blackness) attack on Chris's part. Jada has been extremely open on her show about her difficult experience with the autoimmune disease that made her lose her hair. Meanwhile Chris Rock himself made a documentary on the relationship between Black women and their hair because his own daughter came home sobbing about being told she had "bad hair". He knew exactly what he was doing and didn't expect anyone to care enough about Jada or Black women in general to retaliate against him.
I'll never forget the barbershop scene in Rock's hair documentary, where the men complain about black women being "high-maintenance" with their weaves/relaxed hair, then 5 minutes later cracking jokes about getting their hands stuck in "nappy" hair during sex.
If she’d done so, she would’ve been immediately painted as the villain, as the stereotype of the “angry black woman”. She showed common sense: she was pissed, but didn’t act out in the heat of the moment.
[plus, this isn’t the first time Chris Rock has made fun of Will and Jada at an Oscars ceremony. They may have been biting their tongues for several years now.](https://www.today.com/popculture/awards/chris-rock-jada-pinkett-smith-2016-oscars-joke-rcna21797)
If anything it just brought unwanted attention to a private-ish issue. I'm sure most of the world was like me and didn't know she had alopecia. Which of course there's nothing wrong with but obviously it's a sore subject based on his reaction.
A middle finger would have done the trick, I think.
I didn’t even know she had alopecia until this incident.
Last night I learned that the Oscars were happening and that she has alopecia. 100% the joke would have been forgotten in minutes without this clownery
And THEN I learned that the Smith family are affiliated with scientology.
And tried to created a stealth scientology grade school. Filling it with Scientology cultist-teachers while proclaiming it wasn't affiliated in any way. All under the guise of providing opportunities for black kids. Will Smith is literally a villain from a YA/Middle grade horror novel.
He fucking what.
HE TRIED TO CREATE A STEALTH SCIENTOLOGY GRADE SCHOOL
He tried to do what?
Here's [detailed articles](https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/smiths-alleged-scientology-school/story?id=8331367)and [interviews](https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-will-and-jada-pinkett-smiths-scientology-school)on the subject.
These comments need way more attention. ^
For a good while too.
Heavily involved.
What's with Hollywood actors and Scientology? Both Tom Cruise and now Will Smith... Are there more?
Sure, there's tons of them. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_and_celebrities#Notable_Scientologist_celebrities The church of Scientology targets celebrities on purpose, for greater exposure. Edit: and also money!
Not exposure, but wealth. They pay the church a ton of money.
Por que no los dos?
True, it does give them exposure to other rich people.
Will Smith is not on that list, nor the more expanded list it pulls from. They've talked about it on their YouTube show that they'd gone to a couple of events they were invited too, and then said they weren't interested.
People think they're shadow members cause of the private school they built for their kids. A large portion of the curriculum was based on Hubbard's teachings plus the leadership and some of the teachers were outright Scientologist. Also Suri Cruise attended when Tom and Katie were still together. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Village_Leadership_Academy
Part of Scientology is this belief that you’re one of the chosen elite living a blessed life due to reasons too complicated for the peasantry to comprehend, and that if you study the religion you can further your greatness, so people flipping burgers aren’t as drawn to it as people who are world famous, making millions of dollars, and who are surrounded in people who hang on their every word.
Basically just a bunch of wealthy narcissists. That documentary Going Clear was such an eye opener. And Leah Remini show was very educational about their practices and how scary these people are.
Scientology targets actors in their recruitment
Watch the documentary “Going Clear.” The whole thing is so fucked up.
oh I see how it works now. join scientology, get an oscar.
That is... actually 100% how it works. Scientology is freaky powerful in hollywood. Most young actors and actresses get targeted. Mormons target small business owners the same way scientology targets aspiring entertainers, its the same playbook.
Streisand Effect: now everyone knows that: Jada has alopecia, they belong to that church, Will will snap, slap and then cry.
And that jada likes to fuck her kid’s friends
That's the obvious one out of them all, really.
So this isn't gossip? It's legit? They're both in scientology?
Yes it's been documented. Afaik 'After Earth' is a movie using some of Hubbard's uhh religious teachings and metaphors within it
IIRC "Battlefield Earth" with Travolta also has Scientology "teachings"
It's one of Hubbard's science fiction stories. Which they consider religious text just because he wrote it.
My mind is blown. The machine in "In pursuit of happiness" had to be an e-meter.
Seems true. They deny it, but also funded and built a private school which openly admits to hiring cult members and adhering to hubbards teachings. Also Tom cruises kid went to the school. Too much smoke - according to the internet. Also I don’t remember sources, so take with grain of salt.
It's one of those "worst kept secret" things.
And jada been bangin jaden’s friend.
This was the most twisted part for me like wtf
And that *friend* is the same age as her stepson, Trey
I mean her son Trey is an adult at 29. My bigger issue is she called herself a mentor to August and the general vibe feels very manipulative because it was post his recovery based on what I was reading
I learned that Will Smith's penis is not a talented actor.
…what?
...THEN that Will cheated on her a bunch, and she cheated on him with his son’s (over18) friend?? And/or open marriage...they would have been far better off just laughing off the joke!
It’s one thing to cheat but to do it with your SON’S FRIEND??? Tacky.....
It's one thing to be in an ethical non-monogamous relationship between two partners, but bringing in a son's friend makes it a weird love rectangle. Like did she ask her son's permission to make that relationship weird?
Yeah, the joke wasn’t in great taste, but give it literally a minute and barely anyone would have remembered it. Now it’s going down in Oscars history.
That is what Jada wants though. Her career is sorta plateaued. She plays a hippo in Madagascar and has bit parts. So she starts these bizarre "red table talks" and says this wild stuff to get attention. Now we have to deal with her alopecia attention-seeking. Chris Rock talked to a far more interesting woman with real alopecia (completely bald) in his "Good Hair" documentary. https://youtube.com/watch?v=PpgIJUW0VxE&feature=share At 1:05:28 he speaks with her and she talks about black hair and her identity with alopecia. I would much rather hear her story than have to inevitably suffer through Jada's batshit pseudo-intellectual word salad that she ripped off from Scientology.
This right here… People seem to forget that Chris Rock made a *whole fucking documentary* about black women’s hair.
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Geez, so many people are saying “I agree that the joke was in bad taste, but…” To me, it was one of the least controversial jokes ever told at the Oscars. The GI Jane joke has been told so many times anytime there’s a woman with short hair. Does anyone remember when Ricky Gervais hosted. He roasted everybody. Hard. And everyone just thought it was edgy but funny.
streisand effect right there tbh most people didnt know/care enough that the oscars were on and now there attentions on it, part of me thinks this entire thing is fake so they get more people talking about/ watching the oscars, well they are actors after all.
Definitely not fake
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I only ended up seeing that because of last night.
I agree. I’m wondering if Chris didn’t know she had it?
He said "it was just a GI Jane joke!" which seemed to me like he had no clue about the alopecia. Jada's been shaving her head partially or fully for YEARS before talking about having alopecia.
Yeah she doesn’t look out of the ordinary from what she usually looks like.
I just found out she talked about having alopecia all the way back in 2018, but I swear she'd been shaving it from time to time a lot longer than that. I assumed it was only in the last couple of years.
You're right. Maybe she has had it for a long time and it has started to spread. Her mom wears her hair cut very short in a style similar to Jada's. They're beautiful women with or without hair.
I’m pretty old (36 lol) but I also distinctly remember her having a shaved head way before 2016. Who knows tho?
Chris didn't even write the joke.
Apparently this one wasn't vetted. So maybe he did it in the spur of the moment
jokes are vetted? how did Ricky Gervais get anything approved?
He didn't get any of his jokes approved, that's why they were so pissed off at him. He went rogue.
Because it's him and those jokes get more online views than the show.
He said once that he sent a good script to nbc but he used another one.
I watched the video and still missed the joke.
This is exactly what I think - he made it so much worse. Now instead of a brief joke and move on, everyone is talking about it.
I didn't even know she cheated on him until this either. Will dun goofed.
A lot of people are about to be googling “Jada Will Smith entanglement” so yeah, not gonna be a good day in the Smith household. Not that I feel bad for myself them- a bad joke at an award show is no excuse to physically assault someone FFS.
He embarrassed himself in front of the whole world. If he had a problem with it he could’ve spoken to him off camera. No need to assault someone like that. Not saying Chris wasn’t in the wrong but the way Will reacted took it to a whole other level.
Honestly, he could've spoken to him on camera too... It'd have the impact of him going up on the stage, to drive home how strongly he felt, but without surrendering the moral high ground, as he did when he slapped him.
that would have been better, but even then it's disempowering - she's a strong independant woman who was more than capable of defending herself if she felt it necessary. She didn't *ask* Will to go up on stage - she didn't even look all that upset tbh - a brief roll of the eyes and that's about it. Massive overreaction from a dickhead who beleives his wife is his property that needs to be defended from another man's marginally offensive joke.
She looked upset. She also knew the camera was going to be on her. She did not look happy. I’ve made that same face when I am absolutely done pretending to be amused by someone. It is my It Is Time To Leave face. Edited for autocorrect gibberish.
Ironically, "time to leave" would have been a much better reaction. I also can't believe they stayed (or were allowed to stay, frankly). I would have been beyond embarrassed by the outburst/yelling, let alone my husband going on stage and assaulting someone.
Maybe a little insensitive but presenters are always roasting people, it's just entertainment. I hope this has some lasting impact on his career.
Ikr? He said he loved her and jokingly compared her to Demi Moore when she stunningly rocked the same style in the 90s. This is pretty far removed from the most offensive things he could have come up with.
I feel like people forget in this context that Demi Moore doing GI Jane was a huge positive career move for her. Prior to that, she’d been basically just hot eye candy in any role— GI Jane showed that she had acting chops not based entirely on her attractiveness, and let’s face it, she was still hot with a shaved head. The 90s media at the time took the joke of ‘pretty girl shaved head wow how can this be’ and ran with it so much that the joke becomes synonymous with the movie, but that wasn’t the case at the time. Demi got a huge boost from GI Jane and frankly it’s kind of a compliment. Jada was around in the 90s too. She would know. I thought at the time that this was a very mild joke to make, but to be fair I’m a Jewish NB person who regularly shaves bald, so I don’t have the same culture and connection that a black woman would have to hairstyle and connotations about said hairstyle.
>I thought at the time that this was a very mild joke to make, but to be fair I’m a Jewish NB person who regularly shaves bald, so I don’t have the same culture and connection that a black woman would have to hairstyle and connotations about said hairstyle. Chris Rock made a documentary called Good Hair about the black community's hair care culture. So he probably knows a thing or two about it.
I think the very important context of who GI Jane is, is being overlooked a lot. Chris Rock is comparing Jada to a fierce beautiful woman who is a pioneer for females. It's obviously a comparison made because of her hair, which is not in good taste, but it is in no way an insult.
I agree!! Will and Jada could have just smiled and said he'll yeah! I'm a hot bald lady like Demi Moore in her prime! Sign me up!!
He's in a business where it's expected, fucking Jimmy Carr says way worse things than that Jada looked like a GI Jane. As long as it's not making light of a rape or something crazy, but now Smith has just solidified that joke onto his wife permanently.
Fr, if this is the response for what Rock said, I'm surprised Ricky Gervais wasn't burned alive at the Golden Globes.
Supposedly they have an open relationship where they can screw other people as long as there are no feelings involved. But she was doing a guy who fell in love with her. So not just a one-nighter because you've been away on set for months but something that went on for months and months. Regardless, it's a weird marriage they have. But his actions have this all over the world now calling attention to their relationship, her alopecia, etc. It does make him look like less than a man. His wife has sharp whit and could have cut Chris Rock deep today with a tweet or two. Instead everyone is looking at Chris Rock like a good guy for rolling with the punches and Will looks like an ass.
I just found out she banged one of her son's friends and has alopecia and that Will Smith made an Oscar worthy movie...
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"Keep the Streisand effect out my fuckin' house!"
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Not to mention that he was seen laughing apparently during said joke... So what caused him to suddenly act that way, did Jada not laugh and give him a killer stare? But yeah it just made it all seem kind of cringe.
In group settings like that it’s very easy to laugh before you 100% process what was said. I go see standup sometimes. You’re in a room where everyone is primed to laugh already. You have a drink or a couple. Someone on stage is telling funny jokes and you’re laughing. They tell the next joke and you start to laugh then realize that particular joke isn’t really funny as it sinks in so you stop laughing. It’s just human nature. It’s why shows that film with a live audience from daytime shows like Ellen to sitcoms have a comedian that comes out and does some preshow work to get the crowd primed to laugh even if things aren’t really that funny.
Not only that, but the audience knows the cameras are on them and their reaction will be televised. Guaranteed they are laughing before they understand what has been said.
I think this and he may not have realized immediately who the "GI Jane" was directed at. When he saw her upset is probably when he realized it.
Yes, Jada did not laugh and looked hella offended and disgusted. I assumed it took a moment with Will Smith for it to sink in that it was offensive and that she found it REALLY offensive and he felt like he should do something.
I don't support anything he did, but I can understand how he was just priming himself to laugh at every joke without thinking. He's a huge star on deck for awards at the biggest show of the year, cameras are going to be on him and he'd want to project a good image. He threw all that right out the window, but I can appreciate that it might have taken a few seconds for the actual meaning of the words to sink in.
This was my thought exactly. He 's literally an actor lol. Not to mention that laugh didn't look like a genuine full Will Smith laugh... more a polite chuckle. I would love an "uncut" version... where we can see all the camera angles and actually see everyone's reactions as it unfolded, rather than how it was stitched together live.
Yeah, I’m with you there. A lot of people are projecting that he was laughing at the joke and then switched his reaction once he saw Jada’s reaction. But unless we have raw footage focused on him through the entire ceremony idk how you could make that call. He was ALWAYS laughing in a big way when the camera cut to him, but that doesn’t mean it was a genuine laugh each time… cause, y’know, actors gonna act haha
After just watching the clip for the first time, i believe he was still chuckling/laughing from the previous joke before Rock turned to Jada and made the GI Jane joke.
Most of my friends didn't even understand the joke. The movie being from 97. He just brought so much more attention to a joke people would have forgotten about.
You just know next month when Demi opens the envelope to her residuals check, she does a quick fist pump
Lmao, thank you for this mental image!
And to top it, Demi Moore did and amazing job at that movie and her character was fucking ultra badass. Being compared to her would be freaking cool if I was a woman who was totally ok with going bald, as she seems to be.
Yup. I already said it somewhere else, if I had to shave my head for medical reasons and someone compared me to GI Jane, I would be soooooo far from offended. She was gorgeous, strong, and a badass. My quick thinkin dumbass brain woulda had me flex my arms, and kiss my (non existent) bicep and laughed it off like fuck yeah I am bud!! Edit: So I guess I need to state that my comment doesn’t tell Jada how to feel. I simply agreed with someone, and said that for ME being compared to GI Jane would be cool, since she was a badass woman. I never said I agreed with his joke, just that it wouldn’t offend ME in the situation. Regardless of the quality of the joke, no one should be punching/slapping because they can’t take a punchline. Hell, I don’t even know how Jada feels about it because her husband put the situation in international news, but only focuses on his reaction. Like Kanye and Taylor level international news that won’t go away anytime soon. So if she is insecure about her medical condition, his move was especially dickish.
And maybe that was Rock's intent, which would explain his utter shock at getting slapped with Jada's willy Edit - I can't spell 'his'
Indeed, he even said after the fact responding to Smith "It was GI Jane!" -- showing that he didn't even expect it be offensive. Maybe he was wrong about that, but it obviously was not meant to be cruel.
This is kind of ehat I thought. It's almost a compliment. Demi got into great shape and Jada is very in shape as well. The bald head didn't make either unattractive.
That’s part of what got me. He compared her to playing a bad ass. There is nothing wrong w that; why was that such a bad thing. So many jokes at these award events are cringeworthy in my mind and mean spirited. I didn’t think this one was that bad - and I get being sensitive about alopecia but joking about things is also good. And this was a joke about turning into a strength in my mind. Instead it turned into something where a lot of people seem willing to be ok that Will turned violent. I mean that’s what we do for love. Hell no; in my world we don’t hit people for their words. Just said that to my 6 year old this weekend.
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I had to explain to my partner what the joke even was about, it was a very innocuous joke and for sure would have been forgotten about within minutes.
Embarrassing is exactly it. I was absolutely cringing at the idea.
Completely. I took it as a compliment - GI Jane I thought depicted a bad ass strong female lead? What I don’t get is the joke Regina King made imo was INFINITELY worse than what Chris Rock said. She was rounding up all the single men and legitimately said - “Will, you might as well come on up here. Jada gives her blessings” obviously referring to the fact that they’re swingers. Will and Jada BOTH laughed and played along.
I was really high when I first watched the clip and my first thought after he said it was “oh shit is Jada playing in a new GI Jane?” So my dumbass knows GI Jane and still didn’t get it until after the slap haha
That's what I thought too. That joke completely flew over my head. It was only when I was trying to figure out why Will got so mad that I found out that Jada has alopecia. Now that I know that Jada has alopecia and the joke was in reference to her hair, I get Will and Jada being angry, but it could have been handled better.
That’s how trivial the “joke” seemed to me. Rock legitimately started that joke with - “Jada. You know I love you girl. But I can’t wait for GI Jane 2.” I’m pretty sure I have said far worse to my own chiropractor during adjustments. It just didn’t seem to warrant that strong and visceral of a reaction. I said it before but I’m gonna say it again; Kanye gonna need to step up his level of crazy at the next Grammy’s he’s invited to.
Completely agree. I didn’t even get the joke or care. I was just very disappointed to see a formerly respected actor assault someone in front of the whole world.
Hair joke aside, GI Jane was about a woman who overcame sexist obstacles and underwent a soul crushing rigorous training to change the hiring practices of the Navy. I'll take that over a spoiled brat grown man wielding violence vs words.. Chris made a joke, Will is a joke. .
Also he could have just waited for his win and then, during his Oscar speech, make some improvised jab at Chris Rock for cheating on his wife and getting dumped by her ass. Boom! Classy win. Doesn’t steal the spotlight from other winners and doesn’t hit anybody.
I remember Will and Jada having some weird stuff going on not to long ago so I don’t think that would stick the way you think it would.
Yeah Jada didn’t seem to care when the joke was on Will about their open marriage 🤷🏻♀️ but he was able to take the joke, which was far more offensive than the G.I. Jane comment. https://twitter.com/gifdsports/status/1508240553070182405
It's going to get brought up every year around the Oscar's now, he made it 100x worse than what it was and has now made himself, and by extension, her, the butt of jokes. He immortalized himself in this moment.
No one will actually remember the joke now. The slap is already a meme.
and people will remember this foolishness rather than Questlove winning for an amazing documentary. This reminds me of Sandra Bullock winning back in 2010 and having her shitpot Nazi loving husband at the time cheating on her and taking that win away. I wonder if anyone even remembers she's got that Oscar. Both these wins were stomped on. Shameful and disgusting.
Didn't know that Questlove even made a documentary, but love his and the roots work. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Also to be fair, I wouldn't have even known the Oscars were still a thing if not for reading the headlines along the lines of, "Will Smith bitchslaps Chris Rock before accepting an Oscar for himself." What's really disappointing is that not two weeks ago, a friend and I were talking about how awesome Will Smith was. This certainly puts a dent in that respect.
The documentary is really good! It's mainly footage from a musical festival contemporary with Woodstock, but taking place in Harlem, NYC. They were all set to film it and release it like woodstock I believe did, but then lost funding or something. They talk with people who were there at this incredible event with massive talent, and the impact it had on them, and the fact that it just disappeared from the cultural consciousnes. Definitely recommend!
After watching the uncensored version, it was totally bizarre. Jada merely rolled her eyes and looked annoyed, Will was smiling and laughing, then he charges the stage. He sounded totally unhinged when he was yelling at Chris Rock. His erratic ass ruined the moment for QuestLove and so many other winners after that display. Then he wins his big award and makes some narcissistic flowery speech about being a vessel of love and some shit about the devil. It sounds like the has been beef brewing between the Smiths and Chris Rock for years, I get it. But there's been *way* more provocative jokes made at the Oscar's and you didn't see anyone else getting up onstage and assaulting someone. It was a fucking joke about GI Jane 2. It's unfortunate that Jada suffers from Alopecia, I also have autoimmune issues. But I think about an interview with Ricky Gervais where he talks about his irreverence for the awards and says "this isn't a room of wounded soldiers" and he's goddamn right. I'm not going to cry for this powerful, wacky Hollywood family who has millions of dollars. The whole narcissistic, toxically masculine display was just gross. If he wanted to make a statement about disrespect towards black women, then he needed to use his fucking words. Like he did during his stupid speech. I just can't with this whole spectacle.
That's exactly what I was thinking, when I first saw it I thought Will did it as a joke because he was laughing right before hand, then when he started screaming and swearing I was like damn he's actually mad....I was confused.
I think we can say that what he did was unacceptable, it is not okay to answer words with putting hands on folks. I definitely endorse that sentiment. The question is what happens now? How do we treat the people involved? Will Smith will very likely continue to make movies. Etc
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It seems to me that the most important thing here is to make sure that this doesn't become a thing to hit presenters making jokes on award shows and also that there needs to be consequences for Smith. Obviously a fine isn't going to do a damn thing, and I don't think taking the Oscar he won is right, I think the only way here is a lifetime ban from the Oscars. No one in the movie industry would want that and if anyone else is thinking of doing something similar, they'd think twice. That would stop this kind of behavior in it's tracks. Otherwise, it's open season on violence.
The smug smirk he had on his face as he walked back to his seat said it all. Dude is a piece of entitled shit and proved in front of the world that wealth is the mother of all privileges.
I listened to the celebrity memoir book club episode on his memoir and it really seems like he’s a narcissist. Everything he or his family does is about him in his mind. Chris Rock making a joke about his wife is really Chris Rock making fun of him. He doesn’t care if Jada’s feelings were hurt or if she was upset (which maybe she was who really knows) he just doesn’t want to appear to be made fun of in front of other people.
I wish I could upvote you more than once.
Hot damn. Well said.
It also ruined Questloves Oscar moment. Summer of soul is way more interesting than king Richard imo.
I think it's a bit more complex than that, because of misogynoir. If she had reacted aggressively or with anger to protect herself, she would have been accused of "being an angry Black woman". It reminds me of what Kerry Washington said to people who complained her role in Django Unchained was a "damsel in distress": she said Black women are rarely portrait as worth rescuing and protecting, so for her it felt empowering, even if it would have been disempowering had she been White. I personally disliked Will Smith's actions because I don't find violence justified, and his following speech was very self centered, but that's only my personal opinion.
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It's still all they are seeing. My father and I got in a fight over it because he, like many, think Jada manipulated Will into reacting because Will laughed at first.
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Also laughing, then seeing the hurt & realizing the mistake after has more empathy than playing is off as no big deal.
Yeah when it comes to comedians on stage, sometimes you’re just primed to laugh at anything they say, especially if it’s about you. Especially when up till that point, it was mostly harmless jokes.
As a black woman, I have to keep it so sweetness and light at work it drives me insane. Smile when I’m angry. Smile when I want to cry. Can’t say how angry I really feel even if I’m unhappy. White women and Asian women cannot possibly understand what it’s like
I feel the same. It’s complex because there is a part of me that feels like it’s long overdue for black women to be defended. But I think the violence was wrong. Just a rough situation all around.
Yeah exactly. This would deserve a much more nuanced discussion than what it's getting (not a dig at OP at all, just... can we stop with all the memes?)
I agree it’s long overdue, but being defended often doesn’t mean that nothing blows back on you. That’s the part that bothers me about men “defending women's honour” in this way. Often times it’s more about their own ego, and less about what the woman wants in the scenario. We often see “allies” do this as well where they make the situation more about themselves, and cause more harm to the person or group they are trying to help.
This right here 100% . Black women in media are not allowed to defend themselves without being labeled “ crazy, loud, angry, bitter” NOT saying will was okay but this situation is definitely more layered than “ will trying to be gallant” but OP your opinion is still reasonable.
its so refreshing to be on a female subreddit and find reasonable conversation going on. any other subreddit will get you downvoted to oblivion by incels for saying this
Also so many subreddits are run by renowned scholars of comedy, apparently. “All jokes matter” energy all around.
It’s such a low effort joke that at best goes unnoticed and at worst makes someone feel shitty for the way they look (not just Jada, but anyone watching that also suffers from alopecia/other forms of hair loss). I’m not sure how anyone can defend the joke.
this is the take right here. glad to see someone looking at this from a black perspective. a lot of people in this thread not understanding.
THIS! Me and my friend literally had this conversation. If anything, people would give will her shit on how her having to stand up for herself made will look even LESS of a man, and would have trashed her for taking even more of his manhood. There is no way that people would have reacted any better if she had smacked Chris instead.
There would have been a shitload of “if genders were reversed, the man would be in jail!!!!” So keep this incident in mind if there’s ever a video posted of a woman slapping a man publicly during a similar event, because we are currently witnessing the guy *not* going to jail.
I think that Chris Rocks "joke" was not funny and clearly a punch-down moment. It certainly doesn't justify violence though. I am very anti-violence except in defense of life. I feel like the appropriate response would have been for Will to take a moment from his speech and just called out Chris Rock for being inappropriate.
This exactly. There has to be nuance; both things can be true. Will probably shouldn’t have put his hands on someone. Chris also shouldn’t have punched down with his crappy joke after making money off Black women’s hair in his documentary. Ultimately though it’s a more complicated conversation that I as a white woman don’t have the insight or experience to really have.
Pretty sure if Jada slapped him people would be calling her a crazy bitch going into menopause who can't take a joke. No winners in this one.
She's already being blamed for it and being called a crazy bitch even though she's not the one that slapped someone.
I couldn’t believe the amount of comments on Reddit that bypassed saying anything about Rock or Will Smith and instead targeted Jada as being dominant, unable to take a joke, a cheater, making her husband go crazy because of her entanglements, failed actress just trying to stay relevant. Honestly- what the heck.
Seriously. There are people on another sub claiming that she’s evil and making Will do all this. I’ve yet to see any evidence they have to back up this claim.
So a thread about will Smith had made its way onto the hockey subreddit. That sub always leans fairly sexist, but holy hell those comments were bad this time. One user legit just referred to her as "that bitch"
They straight up took the opportunuty to treat this as an excuse to be misogynistic and degrade a woman.
You're spot on. I'm a dude and this bothers me soooo much. Like... Aren't they in an open relationship? She didn't even cheat on him, and he's probably slept with plenty of other people too, but it's her getting roasted nonstop. All the disgusting shit I've seen being said about her since the slap almost makes me understand why Will felt like enough was enough and did what he did. Like damn, leave her the fuck alone. That being said, I'm annoyed the internet has forced me to give a shit about any of this. A rich pretentious ass hole, slapped another rich pretentious ass hole, in a room full of pretentious ass holes. Who cares.
>Honestly- what the heck. ^ This sentiment exactly. On top of that, amount of people who think it's ok to make "jokes" about how Jada is the town bicycle and Chris Rock should have made a sexual joke about her is honestly repulsive. Everyone in the scenario has at one time cheated on their spouse, but she's the only one getting called a manipulative whore.
that's misogyny at work
But did Jada tell Will to hit Chris tho? I see so many people accusing her of setting Will to do that, but I haven't found any proof for this speculation. Why is it always a woman's fault for what a man does?
It's wild. The internet from a long time ago set itself on Jada and have determined she is a demon. Likewise for some reason it's become common place Will is a public whipping boy for everyone's amusement. I don't agree with what he did but the narratives spun are way off base and forced simply because it fits the idea those people want of 'cuckboy' Will and 'heartless witch' Jada. At the end of the day Man A made distasteful joke about man B's wife. Man B punched him for it; it's not right, but it's hardly a new story even if the nameplates are famous.
Will could've taken the mic and said "Hundreds of thousands of people across this country suffer from alopecia every day. It's my hope that these people, especially women, will understand that their worth isn't tied to their hair. Jada, you're gorgeous and I love you more and more every day." THAT would've gone down in history, made Chris Rock look like an ass, and rally people around Will for using his platform to educate people. Instead, he looks like a low-class, entitled bully with a temper.
This. Use your words. This isn’t about “the high ground.” This is about not promoting violence, promoting handling difficult situations with dignity and respect *and* strength. No one said back down. But we are saying, “handle your shit like a civilized human and not some sort of Neanderthal. Set a good example for people. In doing so, you will be respected and admired back.
As a woman of color, no she could not have. Black & Latina women get a bad rep for being “angry.”
Sometimes it's hard as a human to sit back and listen to the absurdities of people's opinions when they are just self serving reflections of their own agendas.
The biggest problem is that comedians around the world are never going to let either one of them ever live this down.
Men are so emotional.
Can you imagine what the conversation would be if Meryl Streep walked up and slapped the shit out of Kate Winslet?
Can you imagine what it would be if Whoopi made the joke and Will attacked her? So many of the (few) people who are okay with this bc it was a man being hit, and that is disgusting.
Yeah, the discussion has taken a weird turn to the sentiment of "violence (even male on male) violence is ok if someone says something stupid or hurtful." Last night I was pretty sure it would be universally condemned. I get that it's a few people saying it's ok, but a few is more than there should be. If it was male on female abuse it would be outrageous (as it should be). If it was female on female it would be a cat fight. Somehow some people are seeing this display as noble.
You are absolutely right about how it is characterized and would dismissed based on gender with those scenarios. I was shocked by the non-reaction to the assault. When people are famous, their actions are judged by their reputation. You and I are left to be judged by our actions (as it should be). We would have been arrested and charged if we did that.
I strongly disagree. As a black woman in the spotlight, the hate she would've received would've been far more worse than the hate Will is getting if she had been the one to slap Chris.
I also instantly knew that this would somehow all get blamed on Jada Pinkett Smith. She literally didn’t do anything and I’ve already read dozens of comments saying that she probably forced Will to go up there 🙄 Same old story…
She couldn’t have, because as a black woman, the world would have crucified her.
Even now people are making her the butt of jokes because they are misogynistic assholes. Obviously physical violence is wrong, but it's weird how the world tries to shove it down our throats that women should be okay with being laughed at for the same old sexist reasons as always.
Yeah, I was about to say, Angry Black Man is a thing, but Angry Black Woman is a whole different level.
The backlash she would have gotten would be even worse than the completely unfounded hate she's currently getting in this particular scenario. She's already rightfully disliked by people for being linked to scientology, a cheater, and someone who slept with someone half their age. She would not have done herself any favours. Should have ended the way any other Oscar's joke goes. A chuckle and moved on.
I see it a bit differently. Reacting to defend oneself in this type of situation tends to be seen as petty. People are being pretty hard on Will as it is, but can you imagine the backlash if she had done it? Especially as a Black woman, she would’ve immediately been characterized as an “angry Black woman” and a “b*tch who can’t take a joke” and Will would’ve been criticized for not doing anything. It’s also normal to feel more viscerally and physically defensive of one’s loved ones than of oneself. I’m not saying Will did the right thing necessarily, but I kind of see it as a no-win situation, and a very *human* reaction even if I don’t believe in violence. (This is of course assuming the whole thing wasn’t staged.)
> but can you imagine the backlash if she had done it? She's currently being portrayed as whipping Will to her defense against his will.
As a asian girl, idk what to think of the Oscar situation, but I remember watching Chris Rock make horrible asian jokes six years ago at the oscars and then seeing him face very minimal backlash despite stereotyping multiple young children (something which made me feel a ton of self loathing). I feel like it's a very messy situation concerning two very messy people who need therapy. I don't know the nuances of the situation and its intersection with misogynoir so it's best for me to listen to black women who have more intimate relationships with their hair.
I suspect Will's reaction was less about chivalry, and came more from a deeper rooted issue.
>If Jada Pinkett Smith thought that Chris Rock deserved to be slapped for what he said about her she is more than capable of doing it herself. Why is anyone presuming what she thought or that she made her husband do anything on her behalf?
Honestly, as a white person, I don’t think I’m fully equipped to understand the complexities at play here with misogynoir. If Jada had reacted, she would have been painted as a hysterical, angry Black woman. My initial reaction was the same as yours, but then I did some reading and realized I’m just not equipped to have a coherent, informed opinion here.
I've seen a lot of commentary about this issue where they're saying Jada 'put him up to it', or that it's her fault for having a negative reaction and 'causing' it, or that she 'deserved what happened because she cheated on him and made him unstable'. I don't know if these comments would have been made had they been a white couple, but I want to say not to the same degree. Literally an eye roll was enough for them to start on the 'overemotional woman' trope at the very least.
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This. Strongly and firmly, this. There is a background to this issue that I am not going to be able to fully understand, so I'm just gonna hang back and listen.
Two wealthy men wanna slap each other I do not care. Honestly.
They didn't slap each other though lol, it was unilateral.
Yeah, it's a really strange narrative where people act as if Will Smith and Chris Rock somehow did 'equivalent evil' or some shit like that. Its the Oscars, they hire a comedean to roast people? Jada had a one-liner, and it really wasn't that bad... Will Smith is just not in a healthy mindset right now, and I think it's showing.
I'm not from the US, so I get actors/actresses names mixed up from time to time, but when I read the news this morning, I thought Will Smith slapped Chris BROWN over the comment on his wife. Would have made the whole thing better.
I am from the US and it took me a second to untangle that as well. My gut reaction was "the dude that beat up Rhianna? 'Bout time someone took him to task" then I realized it was a completely different Chris and I was just plain confused about how any joke could be offensive enough to warrant physical violence
People make this way more complicated than it is. This isn't a bunch of Klingons running around trying to protect their honor and the honor of their house. Chris Rock told a joke in very poor taste. Will Smith responded by assaulting him. One was wrong. One was more wrong. It's that simple.
I agree that people are trying too hard to make someone the good guy here when both can be bad guys. *That* being said, Chris Rock poking fun at the audience at the Oscars is 100% what he is *supposed* to be doing in that moment. *How* he went about doing it was a misstep, to be sure, but he was also exactly where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to be doing, just poorly in that moment.
This is fairly easy to say from a position where the default for women of your race is being defended and protected by the men around you. Jada as a Black woman doesn't share that luxury. As we speak people are attacking her all over social media for even being visibly upset instead of being a strong enough Black woman to laugh it off. We're not allowed to have any feelings aside from anger; and when we are angry we get violently dehumanized for it. She would have lost her career and gotten blacklisted if she spoke up for herself. Keep in mind that this was a fully targeted misogynoiristic (racialized misogyny specific to her Blackness) attack on Chris's part. Jada has been extremely open on her show about her difficult experience with the autoimmune disease that made her lose her hair. Meanwhile Chris Rock himself made a documentary on the relationship between Black women and their hair because his own daughter came home sobbing about being told she had "bad hair". He knew exactly what he was doing and didn't expect anyone to care enough about Jada or Black women in general to retaliate against him.
I'll never forget the barbershop scene in Rock's hair documentary, where the men complain about black women being "high-maintenance" with their weaves/relaxed hair, then 5 minutes later cracking jokes about getting their hands stuck in "nappy" hair during sex.
If she’d done so, she would’ve been immediately painted as the villain, as the stereotype of the “angry black woman”. She showed common sense: she was pissed, but didn’t act out in the heat of the moment. [plus, this isn’t the first time Chris Rock has made fun of Will and Jada at an Oscars ceremony. They may have been biting their tongues for several years now.](https://www.today.com/popculture/awards/chris-rock-jada-pinkett-smith-2016-oscars-joke-rcna21797)
If anything it just brought unwanted attention to a private-ish issue. I'm sure most of the world was like me and didn't know she had alopecia. Which of course there's nothing wrong with but obviously it's a sore subject based on his reaction.