By now, just about everybody – on the planet – has seen the clip of the most egregious – and totally uncalled for – attack by the actor Will Smith on the comedian Chris Rock. I had zero interest in the Academy Awards this year, as I hadn’t seen a single new movie in 2021. But I did switch over to it right after the incident, to see Questlove receive the award for Best Documentary. A friend of mine texted me a link to an uncensored clip of the attack a little later, and I was totally dumbfounded! Will Smith? Everybody’s smiling, laughing good guy???
The physical assault was unprecedented in Oscar history, but the follow-up obscenity laden screaming was possibly even more disturbing. I’m fully comfortable with the acronym For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, as I drop a dozen, or more, F-bombs each day. But I’m always cognizant of the company in which I may launch them. Would I ever scream out that word – twice – in anger – in a theater full of people, most of whom I probably don’t know? Knowing full well that the event was being televised around the globe? No! That was sheer madness. And, over a fairly innocuous joke about his wife’s – Jada Pinkett Smith’s – very public appearance! Celebrities are in the public eye, and just about everything said to them, and about them, is considered fair game. They are supposed to be thick skinned. For Will to respond with both violence and obscenity was utterly disgusting. And, for me, it totally destroyed his good guy persona.
Some people have tried to spin it as Will being a “man”, defending his wife’s honor. That is complete nonsense, as Chris Rock was just making a simple joke. And, Will Smith can even be seen laughing at it, until he caught Jada’s eye roll and dirty look. Other’s have tried to say that the G.I. Jane II joke somehow “crossed the line”. If Jada had been going through chemo-therapy, for cancer, then that would be cause for saying it crossed the line. But she has Alopecia. It’s an unfortunate hair loss condition, but it’s not physically painful, and it’s certainly not fatal. And, in some cases, the hair can grow back. It affects about 2% of people during some time of their life. We had a neighborhood kid who lost both of his eyebrows from it. He’s fine today. And Jada Pinkett Smith – to her credit – went public with it. And, despite her shaved head she is still a very attractive woman. Trying to say the joke was “tasteless” or “offensive” is a just way to excuse Will Smith’s inexcusable behavior. That kind of violence and obscenity cannot be justified.
Another complaint that I have goes to how the media continues to report this. And, this might sound petty, or picky, but Will did not say: “Keep my wife’s name out OF your FFFF’n mouth!” He very specifically said “Keep my wife’s name out yo FFFF’n mouth!” Both times. No “of” and “yo”, not “your”. I understand that Will Smith was born and raised in West Philadelphia, possibly in a tough neighborhood. But did he consciously choose to speak this way – as a way to make himself sound even MORE threatening – or was this a case of: you can take some folks out of the street, but you can’t take the street out of some folks? We all know he can speak “the King’s English” when he has/wants to. Just report it accurately, media!
I have to commend Chris Rock. First for taking the shot, from a bigger guy, and not going down. Second for his quick recovery to make light of the situation, and continue with his presentation. And, third for telling the police that he wouldn’t be pressing charges. Because he very easily – and rightfully – could have pressed charges. My son has had some personal – public – dealings with Chris Rock, and apparently he is NOT a very friendly individual. But that can be the case with so many celebrities. Everybody has their shortcomings.
Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock, and I guess to the rest of us who saw the assault, but it was only on Instagram. And, as the old saying goes: a day late and a dollar short! He had the opportunity to apologize during his acceptance speech on Sunday night, but instead gave a half-baked, self-serving apology to the Academy and his fellow nominees. There’s a lot of speculation that this apology was mainly an attempt to repair his reputation, as public sentiment was trending decidedly against him. He has some more work to do, aside from this apology. And, he could face some kind of punishment from the Academy.
My wife has always adored Will Smith, and feels very bad for him. I’m a much more casual fan, but this whole incident makes me wonder about the more general rise in violence, all around the world. With all this political polarization causing hurtful, hateful vitriol, and this unnecessary war in Ukraine, and countries like China, Myanmar, and Israel perpetrating various forms of apartheidism/genocide, and people assaulting others in the streets, and on the subways, because they’re either Asian or Jewish, etc., etc., I have to wonder if Will Smith’s actions are just a symptom of some kind of universal madness that is taking over the world! Can we ever return to civility? Be well and do good, friends. — Your Uncle Rave
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Unclerave's Wordy Weblog 
Dismayed, Disgusted and Disappointed!
Published March 30, 2022 Commentary , Current Events , Entertainment 14 CommentsTags: Chris Rock, Will Smith
By now, just about everybody – on the planet – has seen the clip of the most egregious – and totally uncalled for – attack by the actor Will Smith on the comedian Chris Rock. I had zero interest in the Academy Awards this year, as I hadn’t seen a single new movie in 2021. But I did switch over to it right after the incident, to see Questlove receive the award for Best Documentary. A friend of mine texted me a link to an uncensored clip of the attack a little later, and I was totally dumbfounded! Will Smith? Everybody’s smiling, laughing good guy???
The physical assault was unprecedented in Oscar history, but the follow-up obscenity laden screaming was possibly even more disturbing. I’m fully comfortable with the acronym For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, as I drop a dozen, or more, F-bombs each day. But I’m always cognizant of the company in which I may launch them. Would I ever scream out that word – twice – in anger – in a theater full of people, most of whom I probably don’t know? Knowing full well that the event was being televised around the globe? No! That was sheer madness. And, over a fairly innocuous joke about his wife’s – Jada Pinkett Smith’s – very public appearance! Celebrities are in the public eye, and just about everything said to them, and about them, is considered fair game. They are supposed to be thick skinned. For Will to respond with both violence and obscenity was utterly disgusting. And, for me, it totally destroyed his good guy persona.
Some people have tried to spin it as Will being a “man”, defending his wife’s honor. That is complete nonsense, as Chris Rock was just making a simple joke. And, Will Smith can even be seen laughing at it, until he caught Jada’s eye roll and dirty look. Other’s have tried to say that the G.I. Jane II joke somehow “crossed the line”. If Jada had been going through chemo-therapy, for cancer, then that would be cause for saying it crossed the line. But she has Alopecia. It’s an unfortunate hair loss condition, but it’s not physically painful, and it’s certainly not fatal. And, in some cases, the hair can grow back. It affects about 2% of people during some time of their life. We had a neighborhood kid who lost both of his eyebrows from it. He’s fine today. And Jada Pinkett Smith – to her credit – went public with it. And, despite her shaved head she is still a very attractive woman. Trying to say the joke was “tasteless” or “offensive” is a just way to excuse Will Smith’s inexcusable behavior. That kind of violence and obscenity cannot be justified.
Another complaint that I have goes to how the media continues to report this. And, this might sound petty, or picky, but Will did not say: “Keep my wife’s name out OF your FFFF’n mouth!” He very specifically said “Keep my wife’s name out yo FFFF’n mouth!” Both times. No “of” and “yo”, not “your”. I understand that Will Smith was born and raised in West Philadelphia, possibly in a tough neighborhood. But did he consciously choose to speak this way – as a way to make himself sound even MORE threatening – or was this a case of: you can take some folks out of the street, but you can’t take the street out of some folks? We all know he can speak “the King’s English” when he has/wants to. Just report it accurately, media!
I have to commend Chris Rock. First for taking the shot, from a bigger guy, and not going down. Second for his quick recovery to make light of the situation, and continue with his presentation. And, third for telling the police that he wouldn’t be pressing charges. Because he very easily – and rightfully – could have pressed charges. My son has had some personal – public – dealings with Chris Rock, and apparently he is NOT a very friendly individual. But that can be the case with so many celebrities. Everybody has their shortcomings.
Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock, and I guess to the rest of us who saw the assault, but it was only on Instagram. And, as the old saying goes: a day late and a dollar short! He had the opportunity to apologize during his acceptance speech on Sunday night, but instead gave a half-baked, self-serving apology to the Academy and his fellow nominees. There’s a lot of speculation that this apology was mainly an attempt to repair his reputation, as public sentiment was trending decidedly against him. He has some more work to do, aside from this apology. And, he could face some kind of punishment from the Academy.
My wife has always adored Will Smith, and feels very bad for him. I’m a much more casual fan, but this whole incident makes me wonder about the more general rise in violence, all around the world. With all this political polarization causing hurtful, hateful vitriol, and this unnecessary war in Ukraine, and countries like China, Myanmar, and Israel perpetrating various forms of apartheidism/genocide, and people assaulting others in the streets, and on the subways, because they’re either Asian or Jewish, etc., etc., I have to wonder if Will Smith’s actions are just a symptom of some kind of universal madness that is taking over the world! Can we ever return to civility? Be well and do good, friends. — Your Uncle Rave