The apology still seems to try to put some of Will Smith’s spin on it- come after me, okay, but come after my wife with a medical condition (which Chris Rock may or may not have known about) and you have crossed a line. The assault would not have happened if you had not disrespected my woman. That’s the way I viewed some of that apology. Others will surely disagree with my interpretation.
Many comedians are very concerned about this precedent of Will Smith being able to assault someone with no immediate consequences. Chris Rock showed great restraint and Will Smith should be thanking him for that and for not pressing charges.
A very sad, embarrassing incident. Very unfortunate to have this overshadow this event. I still can’t believe it happened! Crazy stuff.
Would I be out of place if I suggested (as some already have) that this was a hoax?
I appreciate that Smith has “apologized”, but the videos I’ve seen show both of them with a Cheshire Cat grin on their faces immediately after “The Slap”. In addition, Chris is much smaller than Will, and he barely moved after “The Slap.”
Just a contrarian view.
And, by the way, I’ve loved Chris Rock since he was on SNL. I’m not the biggest fan of Will Smith. But, this is so out of character for the both of them, that I really wonder if this was real.
If he slapped and sat down, I might have thought at the time that it was a prank. But Will’s comments after sitting back down solidified for me that this was unplanned.
All part of the performance art, perhaps? The willing suspension of disbelief requires at least some semblance of reality. Will’s sitting down and not saying anything would be very unbelievable.
Instead of a hoax, do we think it’s more likely WS had some substance in him (alcohol, cold medicine, whatever) that made him react in a way he might not have otherwise. The anger and then the crying made me think he might not have been “himself.” NOT saying that as a excuse, just as a possible explanation. To reiterate: I believe we are all responsible for our own actions no matter what the explanation or reason for them might be. Also note, I don’t really know much about him so am just generalizing about someone who did something shocking in a public setting.
I agree that something is terribly odd about all this. These days, nothing would surprise me.
However, take a look at the slow-mo video of “The Slap”…both of them have a grin immediately right afterward. Will’s stance immediately prior to “The Slap” seems to come right out of his practice sessions for “Ali.”
I don’t think this was staged (and don’t see the purpose because they both look like jerks), but when I watched it my first thought was someone had too much to drink.
I can’t understand how any of you think this was staged. To what end? To embarrass yourself, take away the magic of the evening for others (Questlove), to risk losing your award or to solidify that you will be mocked by every late night comedian for the unforeseen future?
And did the charade include the tearful, rambling award acceptance speech?
Again, I may be totally wrong, but maybe it was fake to demonstrate the “King Richard” role of taking care of family. Why, exactly, is that unbelievable?
When I saw the assault live, I thought initially this assault can’t be real, and then the cutaway, only to come back to see Will Smith seated but obviously out of control, obvious even with no audio. If it was a hoax, someone would have quickly made it clear that it was a just a joke as it quickly became clear it was such a distressing scene in the room, as well as for those watching live from all over the world.
If they didn’t run it by the producers and have permission, then that would certainly be a nutty thing to do. And when this supposed “hoax” went terribly wrong, I can’t imagine someone would not have stepped in to let people know it was a joke. I think we need to move on. It was clearly not a hoax, unless proven otherwise!