I’m sure you’ll read about or hear the buzz tomorrow, but at the Academy Awards tonight, presenter Chris Rock dissed Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith for her health condition, alopecia, by calling her GI Jane. That’s about as bad as the orange one heckling the reporter with sunglasses on many moons ago now. Only tonight, Will defended his wife by walking up on stage and slapping Chris. Oh my. THANK YOU, WILL, for defending your wife’s honor. Hoping he doesn’t get a charge out of it, but I’m sure it’s a small price to pay for doing the right thing.
Tao Talk 
Will has always been one of my favorite actors, and I’m glad he stood up for Jada. Chris Rock’s joke was completely inappropriate and out of line.
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I hear you on all counts!
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I don’t know, Li. I saw it another way. When Chris Rock made his admittedly lame attempt at humor, Will Smith was smiling, sort of chuckling. From the look on Jada’s face, though she was clearly not a happy camper. But was it appropriate for Will Smith to walk up onto the stage and smack Chris Rock in the face in the middle of an internationally televised awards show? Couldn’t he have waited until after Chris Rock presented the award and then confronted him off camera about his offensive remark, or even waited until after the show to discuss the situation with Rock. I thought what Smith did was highly inappropriate.
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I understand where you’re coming from, Fandango, and of course it was inappropriate. Sometimes you have to step out of the bounds of appropriateness when it comes to protecting your loved ones. Comedians love to cross lines also, and I think Chris did it not only once in that exchange but twice when he was digging at them about if Jada didn’t win, Will better not win either or there would be hell to pay. That’s 2 disses. Not that violence is ever the answer, but sometimes it’s what’s called for. And then when Chris kept on after the slap he kept on jacking his jaws. I get it from both directions, but the days of black (or any!) women being treated with disrespect are over! I commend Will for sending that message to the world.
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That first diss you referred to was not directed at Will and Jada. It was actually about Javier Bardem and his wife, Penelope Cruz. So Chris only “dissed” Jada once. I’m sorry, but I don’t think violence was called for in this case. I understand Will’s being upset at what he perceived to be a dig at wife (even though he seemed to laugh at it at first), but I think he could have — and should have — handled it differently, non-violently. But there are at least two sides to every story, right?
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I stand corrected on his single diss to Jada. The other diss was to Penelope. I was also just reminded (on fb) that Chris did a whole series on women of color hair and has a full understanding of how important it is to them, so that slam is magnified in its attempt to hurt and humiliate. We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one, Fandango, which doesn’t happen very often.
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No worries. Chris Rock can be very abrasive in his comedy. That said, in my opinion, it’s one thing for a comic to tell an offensive joke, but it’s another thing entirely for a member of the audience to rush the stage and assault the comedian. I think you and I are looking at two sides of the same coin. And that’s okay.
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I agree, and you said it much more nicely than I would have. To defend Will Smith’s actions is, to me, extremely wrong-headed.
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Thank you for your input, Walt. Fandango is always a gentleman.
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Oy vey. Yikes. Wow. This is a double edged sword, Li! I can see that people will be divided on this one. Will had every right and then some to honor his wife–but I’ve got to agree with Fandango. He should not have done it onstage during the show. He should have confronted him backstage. He brought the Oscars down to the level of WWF or a monster truck rally. And also, speaking as a black woman, he did not do any favors representing black people. The slap–which was an assault– was bad enough. Then shouting the f-word twice sealed his fate. So low class, so tacky. Also I gotta say, as far as “defending Jada’s honor,” I don’t know. I didn’t get the feeling that Chris was “making fun” of Jada’s shaved head (due to her alopocia). Of course it was tacky of him to shine any light on her baldness, but I didn’t get the feeling it went beyond that, you know? Like it was just the typical bad, dumb kind of joke they all make about everybody when they host the Oscars. And it’s not like he was attacking “women” or this was an honorable thing to keep women from getting disrespected. Everyone gets kind of “roasted” now and again at the Oscars. Everyone. You can’t really assault people over words. It IS against the law. But if he was gonna do it, my strong belief is that he should have waited. He didn’t need an audience to “put Chris in his place,” did he? He could have had quiet grace backstage. OR if he didn’t want to remain quiet, he could have done that whole scene backstage. He still would have defended Jada, he would have kept his, and other black people’s dignity intact, and it STILL would have gotten out, believe me, what happened backstage, so everyone would know Will had defended his wife and that Will was a class act. I know you feel strongly about your point of view, and I hear you. But I think we have a little difference of opinion here, served with love. 🙂
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Stacey, I’m happy you and Fandango feel totally comfortable in sharing your opinions about it as I welcome all opinions on Tao-Talk. About the assault (and battery) being against the law, for sure correct and Chris is fully withing his rights to ask for legal justice should he choose. You may or may not know that assault can also be non-physical if a person is put in fear of impending violence. I wouldn’t go that far in saying what Chris said putting Jada in fear of violence, but he full-well knew how humiliating it was for him to target her medical condition as he was the host of a series that explored how women of color view their hair and how important it is to them. I’m tired of apologists making excuses for men behaving badly. It’s twice as bad when it’s a female apologizing some some man saying or doing something harmful to a female and in the same breath condemning a man who defended his wife from a low “figurative blow.” I don’t see Will’s actions as tacky at all. I hold him up as an icon of right action at this point. What I did hear about the show this morning that *does* sound tacky to me was the dance music and routines during the honoring of those who have passed on. I do enjoy and appreciate the dialogue that is buzzing here and across the land right now about it. Still small potatoes compared to a psychotic Russian with his finger hovering over the button.
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I’m going to have to disagree with you, Lisa.
Chris realised his mistake immediately when he saw Jada’s face (and by the way, Will laughed at the joke until HE saw his wife’s face). Chris tried to make light of it but then Will made an ass of himself on stage. Then again by swearing at him twice from his seat. Even though Jada did advertise her condition, it is fair to say that Chris didn’t know about it. Actors do all sorts of things for roles. When you are in the spotlight, you are going to get jabbed and roasted by comedians; it’s what they do.
It’s a tough one and we will all have our opinions, no doubt.
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Dale, agree that Will *was* ok with it *until* he saw how it hurt Jada. You can read my other responses for the other parts of how I feel about it. Yes, it’s a tough situation and it would be scary if we hive-minded this one.
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Yikes–I hope I don’t seem like an apologist for Chris! I don’t know if Chris knew or didn’t know about Jada’s condition. If not, it really was just a tacky joke about what he perceived as her “new look,” wouldn’t you say? A woman shaving her head is considered very “ballsy,” if you will. You’ve got to be super confident to do it as a female. But if he did know, it was sadly inappropriate to spotlight it and I would say cruel. If I’m an apologist at all, it would definitely be for comedians in general, since they’re so censured these days that they can’t make a joke about anything without getting boycotted. It seems like Chris would have been better off avoiding the topic of Jada’s hair at the Oscars, though, because like I said, being mixed race from a black culture, I actually DO understand the sensitivity she has around her hair. When I was growing up, kids regularly said I had “witch hair,” which was very hurtful, ‘causing me to straighten it for many years. I really don’t think anyone is condemning Will Smith AT ALL for what he felt and his reaction to Jada’s pain. Not at all. But I will never agree that he, or anyone else, man or woman, black, white, red, or yellow, should turn the Oscars–or any other such event–into a bar brawl, especially with foul language. It just seems like, to me, that before Trump, this wouldn’t have happened. Will WOULD have gone backstage to deal with Chris. But after Trump, it’s a free-for-all on restraint and grace. Li, I agree with you that it’s a double standard where women and men are concerned is so many ways, so many ways! And I stress again that Will was correct to stand up for Jada. He just did not choose his moment wisely, in my opinion–which is just my opinion. And there’s a double thing going on here, too, since he’s black. What he did is just not great behavior to put out in front of the world. Because, realistically speaking, Will Smith is black first and a wounded husband second, in our society, at least, and that’s what they’re going to remember. And sadly, the incident has completely undermined the amazing fact that finally…finally…FINALLY, he won an Oscar. Thanks for listening and discoursing, Li. I think we all appreciate the fact that we can discuss this and see and acknowledge each other’s point of view.
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Happy to have the dialogue with you. Have a great evening, Stacey.
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I have to wonder if it was staged…I can’t help it…the cynic in me can’t help but think that.
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Max, that thought definitely crossed my mind. It’s possible! Only they know. I do know I feel sorry for him now. He’s a hero but he’s being put down.
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I might be too cynical lol.
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There is definitely a cynical part of myself that questioned also.
Honestly, I think Will is an actor but he’s also a human being. I know we look at actors as superhuman gods, but they have feelings. He probably had so much pent up energy about being nominated that he was about ready to implode. He sure was broken up at the acceptance speech. He will “pay” for his actions for a long time, which often happens when a person acts on impulse rather than common sense. I admire him for being who he is, regardless of the root of his action.
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chris shouldn’t have called his wife G.I jane. How rude to make fun of someone with a health condition!
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Agreed, Carol Anne.
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