Will Smith vs Chris Rock

[Bene Futuis]

Lol of course video surfaces of a young Will Smith mocking someone with alopecia. "I just couldn't bear it!" Uh huh.

Edit: He was mocking a member of Arsenio Hall's band and tried to let everyone know that his mockery was fine by saying, "Aww, these are jokes, c'mon!" Christ, it's like the same thing except with the roles reversed.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Lol of course video surfaces of a young Will Smith mocking someone with alopecia. "I just couldn't bear it!" Uh huh.

Yeah we covered that last night and the fact it's a 20 year old Smith, no verification if he knew the guy had the disease vs a 57 year old rock who'd just produced a movie about women of colors hair, their sensitivities regarding it and Jada's very open acknowledgement about her sensitivity regarding the subject--but yeah they're exactly the same thing just like the Dems and the GOP.

[Bene Futuis]

To no one's surprise, the clown is also a hypocrite.

[GwynnInTheHall]

To no one's surprise, the clown is also a hypocrite.

It amazes me that you seem to have forgotten your previous persona and the shit you said and advocated.

But preach it brother! Judge a man on one incident and hope no one ever holds you to the same standard.

[Ken]

Judge a man on one incident and hope no one ever holds you to the same standard.

I don't really have a dog in this fight, I'm still focused on the baseball players But it's hard to reconcile this with how you've reacted to other situations

I'm the most fucking irritating person on the planet, you'll either stop or punch me or walk away, but you'll damn well know what you're doing is bothering someone else

[GwynnInTheHall]

I don't really have a dog in this fight, I'm still focused on the baseball players But it's hard to reconcile this with how you've reacted to other situations

I don't see how these two quotes are related or contradictory. Can you please explain that to me as I don't see the correlation. Thanks.

[heyelander]

I just saw a comment that rings true. Had he not slapped Rock, the joke would have been soon forgotten by all, and the focus would have been on Smith's movie performance and Oscar. Now, that joke, as context for the assault, will be retold again and again for a long time. It is a shame.

On the plus side, Denzel's word of wisdom will have legs too. That was a good line.

and if he had commented on it afterwards Chris would have looked like a dick, and alopecia awareness would have sky-rocketed.

[Sour Masher]

and if he had commented on it afterwards Chris would have looked like a dick, and alopecia awareness would have sky-rocketed.

I think it probably has either way, although there have been other prominent figures with it, so I think a lot of folks already knew about it. One of the best "celebrities" I've seen raising awareness and removing stigmas is Kevin Bull, from American Ninja Warrior. He does a lot of work with kids. That show does a great job of being a positive platform for awareness of a variety of conditions and social issues, without coming across as fake and manipulative, because at the heart of it, the contestants were often doing amazing things showing that their limitations did not define them their effort to overcome does. Kevin Bull was an absolute beast on that show. His flip dismount in 2014, about 3 min in to the video, is legendary.

[Sour Masher]

Off topic, but connected to my last post, for me, the funniest SNL skit ever was an ANW skit featuring the highly underrated Bobby Moynihan. It is one of the few things that makes me laugh every time I see it:

[DMT]

That was funny.

[Teenwolf]

I don't want to make this thread go sideways or anything, but I side with Gregg and GITH. Smith lost the moral high ground with the slap, but he and Jada are right to be hurt, insulted, and angry.

Having lived through comedians making racist jokes at my wife's expense ("looks like this town only has half of a Black person", etc), I can say that I wanted to smack the shit out of the comic. I made my displeasure known and never went back to the shithole comedy club. Moved across the country to escape it. Never raised a hand, but I also wouldn't condemn someone for it. A joke has much more power to hurt or violate someone than a slap. A slap is intended to embarass and shame, not hurt. Important to understand that context here too.

I think getting upset that Smith wasn't removed from the Oscars sets a bad precedent, given all of questionable characters that have won (Harvey Weinstein, Casey Affleck, Roman Polanski, Woody Allen).

[The Feral Slasher]

I don't want to make this thread go sideways or anything, but I side with Gregg and GITH. Smith lost the moral high ground with the slap, but he and Jada are right to be hurt, insulted, and angry.

Having lived through comedians making racist jokes at my wife's expense ("looks like this town only has half of a Black person", etc), I can say that I wanted to smack the shit out of the comic. I made my displeasure known and never went back to the shithole comedy club. Moved across the country to escape it. Never raised a hand, but I also wouldn't condemn someone for it. A joke has much more power to hurt or violate someone than a slap. A slap is intended to embarass and shame, not hurt. Important to understand that context here too.

I think getting upset that Smith wasn't removed from the Oscars sets a bad precedent, given all of questionable characters that have won (Harvey Weinstein, Casey Affleck, Roman Polanski, Woody Allen).

I don't think anyone is questioning the right to be hurt, insulted, or angry. I know if I slapped someone at work I would be fired. If I slapped someone in public there is a good chance I would be arrested. I think this is good. If it were acceptable to slap people who upset you we would live in a much worse society, I can't believe there is any debate about this.

Where some of the pushback seems to be coming from is the impression that those who criticize the slap think it is ok to be cruel or abusive to others. I don't think this is the case, and there are much more effective responses, several of which have been previously mentioned. I am sure every single person has wanted to smack the shit out of someone at some time in their life, I just don't think many people think it would be great to let people do that.

[GwynnInTheHall]

I don't think anyone is questioning the right to be hurt, insulted, or angry. I know if I slapped someone at work I would be fired. If I slapped someone in public there is a good chance I would be arrested. I think this is good. If it were acceptable to slap people who upset you we would live in a much worse society, I can't believe there is any debate about this.

Where some of the pushback seems to be coming from is the impression that those who criticize the slap think it is ok to be cruel or abusive to others. I don't think this is the case, and there are much more effective responses, several of which have been previously mentioned. I am sure every single person has wanted to smack the shit out of someone at some time in their life, I just don't think many people think it would be great to let people do that.

I hope I haven't made anyone feel that I believe they are cruel or abusive because that's not what I believe. I do think people should be more understanding if they've screwed up, made bad choices or the like, but that's just what I believe.

[heyelander]

I think getting upset that Smith wasn't removed from the Oscars sets a bad precedent, given all of questionable characters that have won (Harvey Weinstein, Casey Affleck, Roman Polanski, Woody Allen).

I don't think he should lose his Oscar... that is a punishment that has little to do with the crime.

I don't think he should be invited back though, as he has proven himself incapable of proper behavior there.

[GwynnInTheHall]

FWIW when Brando refused his oscar and Sacheen Littlefeather took the stage for him, they booed her, had to restrain John Wayne from storming the stage and attacking Littlefeather. Eastwood made a snide comment about her later in the broadcast--none of those guys got bounced either.

We see it all the time, the rich, powerful and famous have a different set of rules than the rest of us. Comparing us to them would be like comparing us to any athlete who's beat their wife/girlfriend, gotten a DUI or made shit comments Etc. We do it--we get thrown in jail, they do it--they get 230 million guaranteed and full no trade clause and taken in the first/second round of most fantasy drafts this year

It sucks, but that's life right?