I have so much respect for Chris Rock having stood there and been assaulted and handling the aftermath so well.
I personally took the GI Jane comment as a potential compliment not knowing anything about her hair issues. Obviously it was not positive to JPS.
I think a shaved head on a woman can certainly be sexy.
Personally I think Will Smith should be charged by local authorities. I’m not sure anyone actually needs to press charges. A crime was committed on live TV. I don’t see why it can’t be prosecuted as such.
Beyond that perhaps Chris Rock will sue. He certainly has a right to. Perhaps the academy will actually give some real punishment. Either way I think a real message needs to be sent regarding the assault.
As someone who lost all their hair to alopecia myself, @Nrdsb4 has this exactly right. Those saying it’s not a big deal have absolutely no clue. It. Is. Devastating. And some people never make their peace with it.
I read in the LA Times yesterday that the only viable charge against Will Smith would be misdemeanor battery since there was no serious injury and no weapons were used. In that case, for the person to be arrested it has to either happen in front of the authorities or the person against whom the crime was committed has to press charges. So it seems that the only way WS can be charged is if Chris Rock changes his mind and decides to press charges.
I just read that too, that WS refused to leave when asked by the Academy. WOW. I think there should be additional penalties for that. And, I think that further bolsters the lack of remorse.
Wanda Sykes said today the whole thing was sickening and she couldn’t believe Will Smith was allowed to stay. She said the first thing Chris Rock said to her at an after-party was that he was sorry. She asked him why he was apologizing and he said essentially because it was supposed to be her night, and that she, Amy, Regina had done such a great job. And now it’s all about this .
Chris Rock is a gifted comedian who comes up on many lists as one of the best. I don’t think he is known for being purposely cruel. Like many comedians, you’re going to offend somebody sometimes. And you can’t possibly know what everybody in your audience might be going though that might trigger them.
Honestly I’m sure there were many “authorities” watching when it happened. With over 16 million viewers probably plenty of local “authorities” witnessed it. Seems like a weak excuse and a whole lot of "privilege ".
Same here @tx5athome . If my husband ever did something like that, I would be very angry, AND mortified.
He has made some goofy statements about the crazy things love can make you do, that he wants to be a vessel of love, minutes after he assaulted someone in front of an international audience. Just crazy.
He can refuse to leave, apparently, because he’s Will Smith. Good luck with that for 99+ percent of the population.
The Academy’s statement is puzzling to me. They did nothing when the incident happened, but are trying to claim that they did something by asking Smith to leave, although this “pretty please” request appears to have been initiated through Smith’s reps and not Smith himself. This is not a partial credit situation.
Seems like Rock’s biggest legal case could be against the Academy. As bad as the violent slap was, Smith went back to his seat and shouted terroristic threats at Rock. But no action whatsoever to address the hostile working environment. SMH
re: people saying it’s not a big deal about loosing hair . . . a very close person to me had stage 3 breast cancer; double mastectomy & chemo and etc. On one of her good days, she put on a wig, a special bra, lots of make up and went into work; trying to feel normal. And people commented on how good she looked; although she felt like she was dying on the inside. Never again did she do that. People just didnt know. They werent being mean; maybe even trying to cheer her up; but you’re are right. It was devastating. It’s probably just best to hold back words sometimes.
It would have to be someone very senior at the award to make the decision to ask Will Smith to leave (if that happened), so why didn’t the same person make the decision NOT to give the award to Will Smith. If the Academy truly expected Will Smith to leave then whom were they going to give the award to? I think it’s a lot smoke from the Academy. It’s just a CYA.
I’m very sorry a couple of you here have experienced devastating hair loss. I don’t see anyone here discounting how distressing and devastating that must be. Men can also be effected by alopecia and some men also are devastated by baldness. It can effect self confidence, contribute to depression and anxiety. There are some really young guys in their teens and early twenties that can prematurely start balding. That’s got to be tough. One good thing that is coming out of this is better awareness of alopecia and hair loss . I know this hits close to home for some of you. That is always tough.
Agreed, no one should speak for anyone else’s experience. But alopecia is different from common, garden variety baldness, in that some don’t have eyebrows or eyelashes. That can make one look very different.
