Uncensored video of Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars

The punishment is pretty much totally pointless. But I wasn't for stripping him of his Oscar, and as Yoda mentioned, the length of the ban at least sounds like its something serious. No it isn't very punitive, but it sends a message. That after you get a standing ovation collecting your best actor Oscar, you still might be banned from the ceremonies if you assault someone on stage. I guess that is something to extremely superficial people.



The reality is the only proper recourse would have been him being ejected from the Oscars immediately. But I think this is as good as it is going to get since that is no longer an option.

That's not what they were thinking at the time. It was release in Oscar season in position for the Academy to offer the nomination.

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We can never really know this, but I think if he'd actually punched him he'd have been kicked out immediately. I think the fact that it was a slap--as someone else said, possibly intended to disrespect and shame and not actually injure--probably saved him in that regard. Just one of 20 factors pulling in various directions that gives the event enough nooks and crannies to be eminently discussable and analyzeable.

This is true. I can cut them some slack for being caught flat-footed for a few minutes. You need time to process what happened. But you don't let him stick around to collect his Oscar and give a speech.



I am sure that their sensitivity staff, PR specialists, diversity officers,- statisticians/algorithmic shamans, and other members of the general staff of contemporary truthiness sensed that there would be a prudential risk to the academy in ejecting Smith after the Oscars-so-white controversy, of which the Smith family was involved. How do you kick a black man out of the Oscars when so many in the Academy have been calling out the Oscars for being racist? I think that they looked at the optics and lost their nerve. They caught the blow-back and did this. They didn't find their spine. Water found it's level.

I agree.

While I am absolutely not trying to minimize the physical/violent nature of what happened, I think that there are a lot of other things that are "non-violent" that would be worse, and obviously a physical act (like a punch) really intended to harm would have also been worse. Again, maybe I'm alone in this, but I find Brody kissing Halle Berry without permission to be pretty (almost equally) appalling, and I don't believe there were any consequences from that.

What I think is appalling about the Brody incident (and I am including my own reaction at the time in this scorn) is how it was the kind of thing that wasn't seen as being really even slightly inappropriate. It was even thought of as a cute little thing he did. It was celebrated as a 'great Oscar moment'. And this, especially in hindsight, is patently gross and ****ed up.



And I do think that an unwanted kiss can absolutely be as demeaning as a slap. And there are a lot of factors (like the above) that can definitely factor into it being even worse.


The one distinction though, is as much as he shouldn't have done that, and as much as he was ignoring Berry's autonomy not to be kissed by him, I don't believe the intent was to shame or harm. I think in his arrogance and excitement, that wouldn't have even been something he'd consider as a possibility. And as telling as that is (specifically about those times) the intent of Smith's slap was very very much only to humiliate and harm. It was in fact exactly how he wanted it to be interpreted.



The basic rule of thumb stands regardless of intent though. Don't ****ing put your hands on people unless it is very clear it is acceptable to that person.

Sounds fair to me.

In what way do you mean?

Agreed...I also think Chris Rock's composed reaction helped Will Smith remain at the awards that night. Had Smith drew blood and Chris Rock been hurt and very upset about it, it might have been a different story.

Agreed. Had Will Smith been forcibly removed by Academy officials there would've been protest, claims of racism and all sorts of hell breaking lose.

I think this is a good point, yeah. Rock's reaction supports the idea that it was insult more than injury. If he collapses to the floor or yells or gets really mad in the moment, even, maybe it's different.

Not saying all of this is exactly fair, but it's a pretty hard thing to judge exactly how to respond and I imagine all of this factored in.

Can't find the article, but it stated that his two forthcoming films have been shelved. Also said that Smith fears his career is in trouble.

I hadn't heard that, thanks for posting about it.
Didn't Kevin Spacey get pulled from a movie or series that he was working on when sexual misconduct charges were first leveled at him. I seem to remember the producer saying Spacey was let go to protect the other actors. Which is ridiculous as he's not going to seduce the cast in between takes. Will Smith has proven himself to be violent, attacking another performer, if anything it makes more sense to protect the other actors from an abusive Will Smith.

But I don't know if I'd call that cancel culture, not that I'm an expert, I'm not. To me the cancel culture works more against the mainstream establishment, like trying to cancel what Will Smith did by labeling it no big deal.

While I think Smith was in the wrong, and I think the Academy's response is reasonable, yeah, some of the news about Smith projects getting pulled is kind of surprising, and probably a little excessive. I think some of it might revert, though. People just get a little scared in the moment, when it's not clear what the general reaction to something is going to be. When millions of dollars are on the line, I get it, but it creates perverse incentives.

Guess we'll see.

Depends on the roles of those films, but at the moment Will Smith's likeable, aspiration image is toast. I can see producers getting a little concerned if they've cast him as a person we'd identify as a role model or hero or unblemished good guy.


I have little doubt that in the long run his career will be fine. As it should be. No one should be ruined over a single incident like this. Although I do think it is possible that it will turn out the most memorable incident from his life will be one of his most regrettable. This has the potential to over shadow everything else, which I suppose is just desserts to a degree

He can always try the "heel turn" (e.g., Mel Gibson's compensatory strategy) or join the Expendables.



Personally, I think his handlers will probably find a way for him to offer an appropriate pubic act of penance, probably involving a "hard hitting" interview with a reporter asking soft-ball questions. I think the healing powers of Oprah in prime time would be the ticket. If he doesn't get back "on brand" he is sunk. Everyone loves Will because he "raps happy" and offers midwestern whites a sense of authenticity without too much of an edge.

Both men accomplished their goals, and both by means of unwanted and inappropriate contact with another person. I'm not going to say that what Brody did was worse because the impact on Barry never entered his mind, but I will say that to me they are on par with each other.

Yes, his role in the movie "All the Money in the World" was reshot with Christopher Plummer taking over after Anthony Rapp (Dazed and Confused, School Ties) levied the charges against him when Rapp was only 14. They even cut him off "House of Cards" and finished the last season without him.

As for now, Smith's "Bad Boys 4" and "Fast and Loose" are halted for now. "Fast and Loose" has been in developmental hell anyway because a week before "Slapgate" (as I call it), director David Leitch departed from the project. I know BB4 was still in development but it's on hold for now. Now that the sentence has been given, there could be a chance these two films may eventually go in production.

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Just announced:

G.I. Jane II
being released summer of 2023!

(It's a joke! Sorry, couldn't resist!)

Sorry that I'm just reading this, this thread has gotten really long, but as I've already stated, I think Smith should have been banned from the ceremony permanently. I think that would have sent the proper message.

Suprisingly a bit of a remake of An Officer and a Gentleman. Jada replaces Richard Gere in authentically representing downtrodden folkx who have had to look to the military as an escape from poverty, an actress who never having tasted privilege herself, pours herself into the role of a women trying to be given a fair chance with a service



Chris Rock replaces Lou Gossett. A misogynistic drill instructor who has an irrational hatred of those who suffer alopecia, he is the obstacle to her success. #marinessomean.



Will Smith is the supporting Debra Winger character, trying to support his love any way he can.



August Alsina, plays the guy Jada told you not to worry about. The exciting new love waiting for her after her transformation, he rides off into the sunset with her to attend the Oscars.



Gonna lift Jada up where she belongs!

LOL!

Special guest appearance by Arnold Schwarzenegger as "Dutch"!

Lol