The Oscar Slap

I don’t know the policies for this tour, but for his last tour, the use of Yondr pouches was obligatory. Violators were ejected from the premises.

Hello, AMPAS. Are you listening?

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I don’t know what some of those words mean.

SOMEONE will get it on film. It will show up on YouTube or TikTok. This is too big.

I keep thinking of what would have happened to you or I if we had slapped a co-worker at a employee party. I think we’d have been fired on the spot.

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I am wondering if some good that comes out of this is more awareness and perhaps $ support for alopecia and the treatment/research/support around it nationally. I’ll be their phones/emails/social media/website were hopping on Monday.

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Of course we would. But come on, we all know that the super wealthy/elite/celebrity/star athlete/politician world is COMPLETELY different from our own worlds. This is nothing new, and I don’t see it EVER changing.

Yes, in addition to that, and reiterating that physical reactions should not be indulged, I also hope that people will consider that words CAN hurt very deeply, and that they deserve as much deference as physical hurt.

Reactions like “It was just a joke”, “She should have thicker skin” or “She should be flattered to be compared to a bada$$ movie character” are purely dismissive when no one knows how JP-S felt in that moment or the emotional struggles that she has with her condition on a daily basis.

It also continues to be irrelevant whether or not Rock knew about her alopecia (and also irrelevant that he said it under the veil of being a “comedian”). If you’re getting ready to insult someone’s appearance, you better be sure you know what their reaction will be - especially on live national TV.

I’m sure Will Smith will bounce back - after all, Mel Gibson was in the audience.

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Got it - but she wasn’t the one who attacked Chris Rock.
And it 100% matters if he knew about her alopecia. If he didn’t, his words weren’t an insult on her appearance.
I just have to wonder if it’s possible that those who seem outraged by the joke have never laughed at such jokes before.

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I think it is relevant if Chris knew about Jada. Its a different joke if he knew.

Also think there is a leap to say he intended it as an insult. I can say you look/are dressed like X, Y or Z without intending that as an insult.

I have never watched any of the various awards shows. But it seems to me from highlights/snippets I have seen recently some of them have started to blend in the concept of celebrity roasts. Not sure if its the youtube/social media influence to get that clip that goes viral.

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I prefer comedians who poke fun at themselves, current events or human behaviors in general or tell funny stories about things that happen in their lives, rather than the ones who pick on how people look (even if it’s directed toward celebrities that I find annoying).

If she was in the front row at a Chris Rock show or the subject of a Comedy Central Roast, then maybe the argument could be made that she put herself in the position to be the subject of a tasteless joke, but she was at an awards show.

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So are we supposed to be offended about every old people joke told because comedians obviously know people are old. Every bald joke?

What about the joke made by the female hosts about work being hard on Timothy Chalamet then they panned to one of the older actors implying/joking it had aged him into this old man state? Shouldn’t old people everywhere be up in arms?

It’s comedy. Everyone is too thin skinned. So we can’t laugh about anything or the judgement police (who are the first to judge btw) will turn on the sirens.

Will Smith 100% wrong and just another Alec Baldwin high and mighty bully type. Chris Rock told a not so great joke. His is a lot more forgivable imo whether he knew or not.

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No.

You can choose what offends you, but not what offends other people. Anyone can chose not to buy a ticket to a comedian’s show whose brand of comedy they don’t care for.

I’m not the judgment police and I agree that Will Smith was wrong - I’m just hoping for some empathy and a less of a rush to judgment on how JP-S should have taken the “joke”.

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If he had said, “Pistols at dawn!” after the slap I would’ve gotten more worked up about it.

I read the book “The Coddling of the American Mind” by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. It details how the principle of bullying is being identified by the feelings of the target instead of the intention of the one saying or doing it. Over time, this tends to create people who are thin skinned, who rather than dealing with hardships play the victim. While I completely agree that we are lacking civility (heck even politicians say offensive things about groups of people), we really need to remember that opinions are like derrières and comedy is subjective. Still, not an excuse to physically hurt someone.

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Lacking civility.,.imagine if all these Supreme Court justices launched at the outright racist and sexist senators they face ? These are all highly respected and accomplished people who get the mental snot kicked out of them.

Civility lacks but bullies look worse. People know who they are and should be proud of who they are.

I don’t know Chris Rock but this is an awards show. This is par for the course.

Celebs love to be talked about. If they aren’t talked about or out if the public eye for years, a scandal gets created so they can be on the cover of People Magazine.

Offended or not when you are in the public eye, in the front row, a few laughs at your expense are expected. If there weren’t jokes about them, they’d probably have left in disbelief.

The only one that looks worse than Will Smith are the organizers that did zero and the audience that later applauded him. That says a lot about those people honestly. The fact that the organizers still haven’t done anything…is appalling.

Like most organizations, they formed a team to reviews.

Gee isn’t that impactful.

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I would rather have the occasional bad joke land rather than have no jokes at all. I think you would be a rare person who has never laughed at a joke that was at someone else’s expense.

It’s safe to say awards shows, celebrity roasts, etc. - all come with a good handful of jokes aimed at a specific person and often not in the best taste. Sometimes we laugh. Sometimes we groan. Some land, some don’t.

I DON’T vote for “let’s get rid of jokes”.

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I haven’t seen one comment on here criticizing Jada’s reaction to the joke - not one. As he handled it completely fine - she rolled her eyes and looked disgusted.

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Again. Comedian. Joke. This is how it works.

Jada has every right to feel offended.

Will had no right to leave his seat. The worst part was how weak that slap was.

Here is Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes in 2020. No one was safe.

Laugh. Don’t laugh. They’re just jokes.

Physical retaliation to jokes is a crime.

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And Kathy Griffin - of severed head fame - is concerned about the safety of comics going forward . :face_with_head_bandage:

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From what I’ve read Chris Rock did not know about Jada. Also the joke wasn’t planned (if it had been it wouldn’t have happened.) This is what happens when you go off script…

And next year Will will have a seatbelt waiting in his chair…(he’s very lucky Chris didn’t want to press charges but probably figured it wasn’t worth the time or angst to elevate a situation that should never had ever happened.)

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