Chris Rock and Will Smith...my presumably unpopular opinion.

[LuckyCharms]

It feels strange posting about this considering, you know, that millions of people are being either killed, injured, or forced out of their very own country.

Sure, the actual ACT of what happened between these two men on television is insignificant. I do not care about Smith slapping Rock. However, the REASON why it happened is not insignificant at all, so I do care quite a bit about that reason.

I do not know much at all about Will Smith, Chris Rock, or Jada Smith. If I understand this correctly, Jada Smith has alopecia, which has caused her hair loss.

Some people seem to think that because he is a comedian, that Chris Rock has no boundaries placed upon him when speaking at an event that I presume is broadcast worldwide.

Google tells me that alopecia is an autoimmune disorder.

If Chris Rock was aware of Mrs. Smith's alopecia, and that his GI Jane "joke" was indeed referring to Mrs. Smith's hair loss, and not in reference to a movie or whatever else, then Chris Rock has proven himself to be a fucking asshole of the highest order. Diseases and disorders cause suffering. They cause tears while in privacy, while having to put a smile on your face and exhibit courage in public. Diseases and disorders can change the image you have of yourself as a human being. They can make you belittle yourself, and they can make you feel embarrassed.

This was not an event being held at some shithole comedy club filled with an intoxicated audience. *IF* Chris Rock's comment was in reference to Mrs. Smith's hair loss, then Will Smith had the right to be incredibly angry due to the disrespect that was shown to his wife, and the setting in which this disrespect was exhibited. If the intent was to call attention to her hair loss, then it is really no different than calling attention to a woman who has lost her hair due to chemo treatments for cancer. Being a comedian does not excuse Rock's behavior.

But here's the thing...there are a lot of assholes in this world, and they do what assholes do, on a daily basis. It is not acceptable to physically assault assholes for two reasons: 1) It has very real legal repercussions, and 2) It makes YOU look like an asshole as well.

Mr. Smith would have been better served by quietly and seriously belittling Mr. Rock and his actions when he had the opportunity to step up to the microphone. He also could have taken the opportunity to educate the entire world about alopecia, and the effect it has had on Mrs. Smith and their family.

My wife often asks me at various times "Why did this happen"? "How can this be like that"? "How can that person do that"? "I've never seen people be so cruel before"?

Even though the world has always had a considerable dark side, and there has never been a shortage of meanness, my answer to her questions is always the same..."Because everything is broken".

Tonight's fiasco is just one more example of that.

[TreasonousBastard]

1. That opinion is not unpopular around here. It is never OK to...

make fun of a disability. .

[Doodley]

13. Lack of hair is not a disability.

[TreasonousBastard]

15. It is when caused by disease.

[Emile]

17. Alopecia, hell I have had that almost all my life!

Alopecia areata affects about two percent of the population. About five million people in the United States have the condition. It affects people of all ages and races, and often begins in childhood. It is not a reason for some guy with mental problems to hit a comedian on stage for making a joke.

[TreasonousBastard]

19. True, but my point is only that it's best not mentioned.

[Emile]

21. People need to lighten up and laugh. Will Smith needs mental health!

We have always had comedians making bald jokes and for Will Smith to snap and act like he did, he seriously needs help!

[TreasonousBastard]

22. True.

[Cattledog]

26. He's a bully.

[BlackSkimmer]

28. This.

Anybody else would have been kicked out.

Rich and famous/different rules.

[Cattledog]

29. And if Mike Tyson would have made that joke what would have been WS's response.

[Walleye]

32. That's a good point. It looks like Rock is smaller than Smith

[Brainstormy]

34. You're being too kind. n/t

[SheilaAnn]

48. He's also a horse's ass, always was and always will be...n/t

[Srkdqltr]

50. No Chris Rock is the bully. Bullying is making fun of folks like that! Someone has to stand up to b

Bullying. If you think making fun of someone with Jada's condition on national tv is funny there is something wrong with you.

[Emile]

51. So do you think being compared to Demi Moore is an insult?

[fishwax]

56. It's not an either or. They can both be bullies.

[Brainstormy]

33. Absolutely! n/t

[Cattledog]

24. Yep

[Cattledog]

25. So Chris rock knew her health situation???

Or did he see a woman with a shaved head and saw a joke opportunity over a fashion statement?

[TreasonousBastard]

27. I have no idea. All this commenting is in retrospect..

If he knew, he should have shit up.

If he didn't know, it should have been worked out another way. What way, you ask? Beats me, that's between the three of them.

[Doodley]

61. It isn't a disability.

[uponit7771]

69. 1997 Demi Moore is "making fun of a disability" ?!?!! REALLY ?!?! WTF PEOPLE !!!

[catsudon]

2. i agree

’m no professional comedian, but I’d have used the infidelity as material rather than the medical condition.

[dhol82]

31. Yes. I was intrigued by their marriage situation.

[sheshe2]

3. Jada is bald, not by choice.

alopecia is an autoimmune disorder.

The joke hurt.

[True Blue American]

4. I do not like people

Who make fun of bald men, either. It seems only insecure men do that repeatedly.

[secondwind]

5. Yet Will is laughing. I don't get it.

[LuckyCharms]

8. I think he was laughing until he saw Jada's reaction...

He is at an event where he knows that a camera is on him and Jada, and his laugh was probably an immediate and polite reaction.

I believe he then looked at his wife and realized that Rock's comment stung her, realized why it stung her, and then he got pissed off.

[Doodley]

12. Will Smith laughed at the joke more than anyone.

[usedtobedemgurl]

20. You are totally in the right. It was her choice.....

It was her disease which left her missing patches of hair but make no mistake about it, she could have left her hair with bald patches. She did not have to shave her head. That was a choice. (Do I need a sarcasm tag?)

[Brainstormy]

36. Don't suppose she could have afforded

to buy a wig? I thought she looked stunning. But either way, being compared to Demi Moore, is not much of an insult.

[usedtobedemgurl]

40. I was replying to sheshe2...

Who said she had a choice about shaving her head.

[LittleGirl]

6. Thank you

I don’t care for the violence but free speech doesn’t mean free from consequences!
They were both wrong and I’m glad that Rock didn’t press charges.
I hope the academy doesn’t either.

I have several autoimmune diseases and it’s nothing to joke about. My spouse is amazing in his support of me throughout our 15 years of marriage.

[malaise]

7. Great post

Mean and cruel aren’t funny - nice to see a man defend his wife.

[LuckyCharms]

9. Yes, it is nice to see. To me it's one of those things like

"Yep, he shouldn't have hit him, but I understand why he did".

I just wish Will Smith took a different action. You can utterly destroy people when they disrespect you or your loved ones, just by using your words. And the quieter and more serious you are when you do that, the more devastating it is to the person who did the disrespecting.

By hitting him, it gives Chris Rock an out..."I was just making a joke and he hit me"!

If will Smith had instead taken a serious tone when he stepped to the microphone, and began with something like "Mr. Rock has disrespected the woman I love in front of a world wide audience, and I am going to take a few moments to educate Mr. Rock, and everyone in the audience, why what he said should make him deserving of your scorn, and then I'm going to contrast Mr. Rock's behavior to how civilized caring human beings behave, and how insensitivity and cruelty is not comedy"...that type of thing.

Anyway...Hi malaise! Hope you are well!

[malaise]

10. THIS

"Yep, he shouldn't have hit him, but I understand why he did".

Of course there will be more outrage for this than for all the Slobfather/Losr king of Babble On’s crimes.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216530636

[Cattledog]

23. What poor Jada can't defend herself? And since when do words justify a physical attack?

I't's not the 19th century. Anyway it was a joke told at a public event, no different than a "roast".

[BlackSkimmer]

38. Thank you.

I’ve seen much worse insults at awards ceremonies over the years. Somehow the jokees managed to behave like adults.

Jada Pickett is perfectly capable of “defending” herself. No one was threatening her physically.

Lady Gaga showed true class and dignity. What a contrast.

[Sympthsical]

57. Ricky Gervais must be in hiding

But hey, let's look at the bright side. People are finally finding validity in toxic masculinity.

So we've got that going for us.

I really don't care about any of this. I'm just enjoying the hell out of the double standards and sudden justifications for violence in all the arguments. This moment delivered.

[Tree Lady]

63. I read they have a lot of marriage issues

And she wasn't feeling like he stood up for her before, so that's why he went from laughing to seeing her face and instantly knowing if I don't do something like she is expecting my marriage is over.

The fact that Will thought he had to do something like that showed me how desperate he was to fix it. And how they both need help.

[uponit7771]

70. No, that wasn't "defending his wife" 1997 Demi Moore is fine as hell and IN NO WAY her looks in

... that movie SHOULD be taken as an insult.

Demi Moore in 1997 was BUEATIFUL the "insult" was the what people are perceiving it to be without even looking at pictures of Demi Moore in 1997.

Love you like a play cousin man but there's NO WAY that was "defense" seeing he was laughing at first too.

Also, "hey ... lets get up, walk out right now and I'll talk to CR man to man during the break and come back... that cool? lets rool ..."

That's what a man does, be smart first

I lived in parts of the US were that crap Smith pulled would've gotten someone killed by gun violence or some other stupid crap.

It's "industry" and privilege to feel a person who outweighs someone else by 40 lbs can "slap" someone in public and get away from the consequences.

I'm disappointed in Smiths actions especially after looking at pictures of Moore in 1997, she was fine as hell.

[USALiberal]

76. Defend his wife? From a joke?????

[Doodley]

11. It is hardly offensive to be told in a joke that because you don't have hair you

could star in a movie as a character without hair. Will Smith laughed after the joke. The punch was fake and planned. No way could Chris Rock take a hit like that and show no reaction other than a smile, and Will Smith was smirking after the hit, plus the obvious sound effect of the smack. Where it went wrong was when Will Smith, who presumably had drunk too much, yelled back at Chris Rock when he got back into his chair, and the room fell into silence. Smith had gone too far.

[LuckyCharms]

53. It absolutely is offensive if you are a woman, who most likely wants hair, but

does not have hair because of an illness.

We're not talking about male pattern baldness here.

[Doodley]

60. I hardly have hair, am I offended? No. People mock my accent. Am I

offended? No. I am not going to be a victim.

[LuckyCharms]

62. Well, that's good.

[Doodley]

64. It's called not taking oneself too seriously.

[LuckyCharms]

65. I see.

[nvme]

14. I think this speaks to a larger issue

Over the last few years people have lost their sense of boundaries. It started with the dumpster fire of 45 and continued unbated through the covid years. We are showing less restraint. Both Rock and Smith acted in ways that represent these trends. They were both inexcusable. Rock in what he said and Smith's use of violence.

[Boomerproud]

30. Thank you.

[nowforever]

16. Chris Rock has never been funny

A good deal of his humor is derived from mocking others and then following it with a jackass laugh . Will Smith recognized that his wife's pain and public embarrassment was a step to far and did the appropriate thing. The slap he gave him was intended as a public rebuke and not to physically hurt him. Cruelty is never funny. Will Smith is a sweet human being and decided to let the world know that jackasses need to be called out. Trump should have been slapped at least a thousand time and just hope Will Smith has opened the door to that possibility. Some human's need a slap to wake them up.

[malaise]

74. I disagree

He's quite funny

[USALiberal]

77. Lol, "appropriate thing"? Nice try!

[Whiskeytide]

18. I have at times thought Rock was pretty funny. But I have ...

… always been bothered by this joke from his 1996 special “Bring the Pain”:

“So you gotta think about OJ’s situation: $25,000 a month, another man drivin’ his car, f—in’ his wife, in a house he’s still payin’ a mortgage on. Now, I’m not sayin’ he should have killed her … but I understand.”

https://m.

&t=223s&pp=2AHfAZACAQ%3D%3D

[Walleye]

35. Has anyone asked her how she felt about the incident

I noticed Smith called her “my wife” at least Chris rock used her name. I want to know if Smith hitting rock made Jada feel any better.

[JoanofArgh]

41. Not that I've seen . Will made it all about himself.

He probably celebrated by picking up a pretty young starlet after the show. I’m always amazed at people’s naïveté about Hollywood.

[Walleye]

44. It would've been better if Jada herself had stood up and said "shut up asshole"

[JoanofArgh]

45. Agree.

[JoanofArgh]

37. I think it's all a bunch of attention getting bullshit.

Nothing more, nothing less..

[XanaDUer2]

39. Yup nt

[madville]

49. It got people talking about the Oscars

I think it was planned to generate some hype, because most people couldn’t care less otherwise.

[dem4decades]

42. All I know is Jada Smith's roast is either going to suck or be the best ever.

[dixiechiken1]

43. I'm embarrassed...

For and by Will Smith. I used to think he was a class act. That was some thug-ass bullshit there. WTF ever happened to "sticks and stones"? He has - rather had, in my book - the largest pulpit in the world. He could have used the ignorance on display about his wife's autoimmune disorder and made a movie about it, or a documentary about it, to educate people. Instead, he went thug. Seems to me Will and Jada are in the wrong business if they can't handle the spotlight.

[Emile]

52. +1

[nvme]

46. ON A MORE CYNICAL NOTE

It did generate attention! That seems to be the only thing that matters these days

[Goodheart]

47. Chris Rock is an asshole, Will Smith's assault and battery in unacceptable.

Smith should have been arrested.

[Paladin]

55. Will Smith put grins on the faces of every drooling racist in the country.

Beyond unfortunate.

[Duncan Grant]

54. Your 2nd paragraph? Wrong. The violence was very significant.

You know who deserves sympathy and purple prose? The worldwide viewing audience. They’re the real victims here, not the Smiths. The fact that Will Smith was allowed to remain in the building and receive a standing ovation is inexcusable.

Efforts to contextualize his violence and assault are disturbing. It’s gaslighting. Nothing about his actions make his behavior chivalrous, understandable or remotely excusable. I don’t need a PR statement/campaign to help me understand what I saw with my own eyes. The violence was significant beyond words.

[LuckyCharms]

58. Well, my meaning was that it is insignificant TO ME.

I explain further down in the OP that it was wrong.

But in my view, compared to everything else happening, it's not MY major concern.

I explained fully how I felt about the entire incident.

I understand that the violent act itself it is significant to you.

What I think is significant is what is behind the trigger for the violence.

[Doodley]

66. Assuming the smack was real.

[Deep State Witch]

59. Both of them were wrong

Rock for making a crass, ableist joke about a Black woman's hair - or lack thereof. Smith for overreacting to it publicly.

[uponit7771]

73. Nope, Moore in GI Jane was fine as hell if her looks are an insult then people have really fucked up

... standards of appearance of women.

People are coming to defense of hyper masculine actions without thing of context.

It hurt Jada ... yeah, we can see that but to claim looking like Demi Moore in 1997 as an insult is beyond being rational

[geardaddy]

67. You hit the nail right on the head

Rock either intentionally or unintentionally stepped over the line and Will Smith responded inappropriately.

[Sogo]

68. It was Chris Rock, for Pete's sake....Everyone (should) expect he's gonna talk sh!t!!

If Chris Rock is broken, he's been broken for a long time; like ever since he started doing comedy.

His style may not be to everyone's liking, but he is what he is....

It's beyond me that this is a "story" and taking up any oxygen at all.

And for the record, I thought Jada Smith looked incredibly beautiful; I didn't know about her hair loss due to alopecia and thought it was just a fashion thing that she was bald. Thank goodness for her, she looks incredible with no hair, as does Ayanna Presley.....

[LuckyCharms]

72. I absolutely agree with you concerning the beauty of Jada Smith and

Ms. Presley.

[The Grand Illuminist]

71. You MUST give credit to Chris Rock's demeanor and professionalism

Rock could have retaliated as Smith had his back to him going back to his seat after the slap. No, what Rock did was textbook professionalism. He took the slap, he deescalated the situation, and moved on. Long time stand ups endure this kind of treatment if a joke or gag bombs offensively. Mostly by thrown drink glasses or ashtrays at 80 mph.

[LuckyCharms]

75. I give both Chris Rock and Will Smith NO credit for what happened last night.