At Oscars, Will Smith Hits Chris Rock For Joke About Wife

[TTL News 307]

After a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith's appearance, Chris Rock got more than applause at last night's Oscar awards. 

"Jada I love you, 'G.I. Jane 2,' can't wait to see it," Rock said. Pinkett-Smith's head was shaved, after the actress's diagnosis of alopecia, which has caused her to lose her hair. Will Smith appeared to laugh at the joke at first, while his wife appeared to be less than amused when the camera was on her. 

As Rock continued, Smith walked up on stage and smacked Rock before returning to his seat. As the entire audience sat stunned, Rock recovered and said, "Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me." From his seat, Smith made his displeasure known even further. 

The feed was cut off for American audiences, but international viewers got to see the whole thing play out, live and uncensored. See the complete, uncensored video below (NSFW - Language )

 A short time later, Smith gave a tearful speech after winning an Oscar for his role in "King Richard":

According to LAPD, Chris Rock declined to press charges.  

Do you think this incident was staged?

Do you think what Smith did was wrong? Why or why not?

[Zapp Brannigan 136]

He should not have hit him. You figure the Fresh Prince would have thicker skin than that considering he was laughing at the joke as well. As far as being stage it does kinda look like Chris Rock is smirking or that could because he just got will smith to hit him

[Chris 2,152]

I thought it was fake right up until the point Will was dropping f-bombs on live TV. 

As for going up and hitting Chris Rock, eh, everyone has their limits, and Chris just learned Will's. 

[Chris 2,152]

I have to say thought, Rock handled that like a pro. 

[MsKreed 1,167]

41 minutes ago, Chris said:

I thought it was fake right up until the point Will was dropping f-bombs on live TV. 

Still felt staged to me....

 

What did Chris Rock find on his face this morning?

Spoiler

Fresh Prints!

 

 

 

[Kevin 334]

On top of the fact they named their kids after themselves Will and Jada, Willow and Jaden. 

Their whole marriage has been crazy. Jada admitted to sleeping with her son's friend and then it came out that Will knew about it and approved of it.

They admitted to having an open marriage because Jada "Never Believed In A Conventional Marriage". 

 

[Chris 2,152]

Smith has issued an apology to Chris Rock:

[Ann 262]

The apology should have come before the excuses of which there are non to justify his actions.  Just my opinion.

[Chris 2,152]

I hear a lot of, "There's no reason for violence" on tv and other media. But you know, I have to disagree to an extent. Too often now, people get to behave however they want without repercussions. Perhaps a good rap in the jaw is what's called for now and then. 

Strangely, this situation brings a lot of things to mind and I don't see it in black and white at all. For example, there's a lot of talk about the Smiths' marriage and what goes on within. How is this any of our business? Or what bearing does it have on a husband's response? 

Would the response be different if it wasn't one of the biggest Hollywood stars, and was some guy at Wegmans? Would more people say, "good for him"? I suspect they would. 

The incident itself isn't that interesting two days out. But the response to it is, at least to me. 

 

[TTL News 307]

Quote

 

NEW YORK (AP) — The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on Wednesday said that Will Smith was asked to leave Sunday’s Oscar ceremony after hitting Chris Rock but refused to do so.

The academy’s board of governors met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. The academy said disciplinary action for Smith could include suspension, expulsion or other sanctions.

Many have focused on why Smith was allowed to remain seated front row in the Dolby Theatre after the incident. On Wednesday, the academy suggested that it attempted to remove the actor from the audience.

“Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated,” the academy said. “While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently.

 

Source

[TTL News 307]

An interesting take on the matter:

 

Will Smith’s slap shows ‘honor culture’ is alive and well

A culture of honor is more likely to develop in areas where law enforcement is inconsistent or nonexistent. 20th Century Fox/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

H. Colleen Sinclair, Mississippi State University

After witnessing the “slap heard around the world” during the 2022 Oscars, I wasn’t surprised when the internet split into two camps: #TeamWill and #TeamChris.

As a social psychologist who studies aggression, I also wasn’t surprised to see support for Will Smith – who slapped comedian Chris Rock after Rock joked about Smith’s wife’s alopecia – involve similar justifications: namely that the actor was “doing what needed to be done” to protect his wife, and that doing so made him “a real man.”

These defenses contain elements of what social scientists call a “culture of honor,” which is prevalent in certain regions, ethnic groups and subcultures around the world.

How cultures of honor flourish

Cultures of honor require men to aggressively defend their reputations against insults or threats, and this imperative extends to protecting their spouses, children and property. To not lash out at slights makes one less of a man.

This concept can be confused with “toxic masculinity” – which is a brand of anti-feminist hypermasculinity that promotes independence, emotional blunting and aggression to establish dominance over men and women. In fact, recent research finds the two concepts are distinct, with a culture of honor more closely tied to benevolent attitudes toward women and notions of chivalry. However, these two concepts can overlap, particularly in more traditional cultures.

Researchers argue that cultures of honor flourished in communities where law enforcement was inconsistent or nonexistent – such as the 19th-century American frontier and herding communities that lived in Africa and Latin America. This work has also been used to understand violence in certain inner-city communities where the police are less trusted.

In these places, a man’s reputation becomes his first line of defense. If it becomes known that slights against him or his family won’t go unpunished, it makes transgressors less likely to push their luck.

When some see violence as acceptable

Research on this topic can be traced to the work of social psychologists Richard Nisbett and Dov Cohen, who sought to explain why homicide rates were significantly higher in the U.S. South and West than in the rest of the country.

Comparing crime statistics, Nisbett was able to show that the difference in homicide rates was due to the South and West having a higher rate of homicides tied to arguments. The country’s different regions were similarly intolerant of violence, more generally, on questionnaires. However, respondents in the South were more likely to say violence was justified when a man – or his family – was insulted.

In subsequent studies, Cohen and Nisbett randomly sent one of two job applications to businesses throughout the U.S.

Accompanying each application was a cover letter in which the applicant sought to explain a felony conviction, chalking it up to a misspent youth. In half of the letters, that felony conviction was a car theft. In the other half, it was manslaughter spurred by an insult. When the employer was from states where a culture of honor is more predominant, the researchers found that the hypothetical murderer actually received more responses – and with a far more understanding tone – than the car thief.

In the same study, Cohen and Nisbett recruited college journalists from around the country and randomly assigned them to write up a story about either an insult-related murder or a felony-related murder. Researchers found that the journalists cast the insult-related murder in a more favorable light when the journalist was writing for a paper in a state with a culture of honor – places like Texas, Alabama and Montana.

In other experiments, researchers have been able to show that after being insulted, people who adhere to an honor ideology register higher levels of testosterone and cortisol – two hormones tied to aggression and stress. They were also less willing to forgive a transgressor and had a tougher time calming down after being slighted. Finally, in questionnaires they were more likely to exhibit anger and shame when recalling a recent insult.

People who adhere to an honor ideology are more likely to justify violence as a response to insults directed at themselves or family members. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

No remorse

In the real world, places that adhere to the honor belief system are more likely to have school shootings. In these same states, convicted murderers were less likely to express remorse ahead of their executions. It’s important, however, to exercise caution around making definitive conclusions about statistically rare events like school shootings and executions.

After Will Smith accepted his Best Actor Oscar for his role in “King Richard,” he praised Richard Williams for doing everything he could to protect his family. To many viewers, Smith was summoning virtues like honor and chivalry to justify his actions earlier in the night.

Off the Oscars stage, you can also see a culture of honor being used to explain the Ukrainians’ dogged defense of their country against a more powerful Russian invader, with Ukrainians praised for honorably defending home and hearth.

Certainly, cultural differences aren’t the only factor influencing the way people responded to the slap. For instance, you’d expect fellow comedians to defend Chris Rock out of solidarity. And racist reactions were bound to emerge.

But while many people were quick to declare that “violence is never the answer,” for others violence can, in fact, be the answer – and that’s due, in part, to the fact that honor culture is alive and well.

 

H. Colleen Sinclair, Associate Professor of Social Psychology, Mississippi State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

[TTL News 307]

Just when you thought it went away:

Quote

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Will Smith has again apologized to Chris Rock for slapping him during the Oscar telecast in a new video, saying that his behavior was “unacceptable” and that he had reached out to the comedian to discuss the incident but was told Rock wasn’t ready.

“There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment,” Smith said in the under-six minute video posted online Friday. “I am deeply remorseful and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself.” To Rock, he said: “I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”

 

Source

[Ann 262]

“Remorseful without feeling ashamed”.  Will Smith should feel shame so I don’t buy his apology.  Wonder if he’s having trouble getting offers?