Will Smith slaps Chris Rock at Oscars

[triplemultiplex]

Wouldn't have even known there was some awards show going on if this didn't go down.  Didn't seem genuine to me.  Like when Eminem got T-bagged by Tom Green during the VMA's a million years ago.  Trying to make the young internet people give a shit about awards shows.

I guess I'll have to watch that tennis movie because I find it hard to believe Will "Welcome to Earf" Smith won an award for acting.  It's not like he sucks or anything, but Best Actor?  Hmm.

[SectorZ]

In Radio contests are done during a song just in case a caller reacts to being the one to get through, by swearing accidentally. Then the overall conversation it's cut shorter to fit between songs as there is more to it then what you only hear on air.

Also if the DJ asks for Caller 9 to be the winner, there really is no caller 9 they're looking for. It's an excuse to dismiss a caller if he or she isn't excited enough to want the contest prize. 

I took a studio tour of Cox in Orlando when the Country Station had a contest. One caller was not at all excited when he called, so the DJ said " Sorry you're not caller 10!"  Then moved onto a lady who was excited, and called her out as caller ten.  Then the DJ showed the phone conversation edited in the process and told us that no caller is live just in case the caller acts too crazy and drops an F Bomb on the air.

That sounds like way too much work compared to just doing it right.

A radio station in Boston, recently deceased from its current format, used to pick the seventh caller as a winner. If you called and were callers 1-6, you'd just hear "you're number x", followed soon by a dialtone. I happened to be in studio to watch this work a few times and also was on the caller side a few times.

Radio can be a weird place. No wonder it's mostly dead.

[jakeroot]

Any discussion that this was fake ended when Rock had to confirm he wasn't going to pursue having charges filed against Smith.

Probably just a formality. Police had to ask. Doesn't mean it wasn't scripted

Just because a victim doesn't press charges doesn't mean charges can't be filed. Even if Chris Rock declines to take part in any legal proceedings, there were plenty of witnesses to call on.

[Scott5114]

In Radio contests are done during a song just in case a caller reacts to being the one to get through, by swearing accidentally. Then the overall conversation it's cut shorter to fit between songs as there is more to it then what you only hear on air.

Also if the DJ asks for Caller 9 to be the winner, there really is no caller 9 they're looking for. It's an excuse to dismiss a caller if he or she isn't excited enough to want the contest prize. 

I took a studio tour of Cox in Orlando when the Country Station had a contest. One caller was not at all excited when he called, so the DJ said " Sorry you're not caller 10!"  Then moved onto a lady who was excited, and called her out as caller ten.  Then the DJ showed the phone conversation edited in the process and told us that no caller is live just in case the caller acts too crazy and drops an F Bomb on the air.

That sounds like way too much work compared to just doing it right.

A radio station in Boston, recently deceased from its current format, used to pick the seventh caller as a winner. If you called and were callers 1-6, you'd just hear "you're number x", followed soon by a dialtone. I happened to be in studio to watch this work a few times and also was on the caller side a few times.

Radio can be a weird place. No wonder it's mostly dead.

I would be surprised if the way roadman65 describes it being done complies with the standards & practices regulations the FCC put into place after the quiz show scandals of the 1950s. (Unless those apply to television only, which wouldn't make a whole lot of sense.)

[CtrlAltDel]

In Radio contests are done during a song just in case a caller reacts to being the one to get through, by swearing accidentally. Then the overall conversation it’s cut shorter to fit between songs as there is more to it then what you only hear on air.

Also if the DJ asks for Caller 9 to be the winner, there really is no caller 9 they’re looking for. It’s an excuse to dismiss a caller if he or she isn’t excited enough to want the contest prize. 

I took a studio tour of Cox in Orlando when the Country Station had a contest. One caller was not at all excited when he called, so the DJ said “ Sorry you’re not caller 10!” Then moved onto a lady who was excited, and called her out as caller ten.  Then the DJ showed the phone conversation edited in the process and told us that no caller is live just in case the caller acts too crazy and drops an F Bomb on the air.

That sounds like way too much work compared to just doing it right.

A radio station in Boston, recently deceased from its current format, used to pick the seventh caller as a winner. If you called and were callers 1-6, you'd just hear "you're number x", followed soon by a dialtone. I happened to be in studio to watch this work a few times and also was on the caller side a few times.

Radio can be a weird place. No wonder it's mostly dead.

I would be surprised if the way roadman65 describes it being done complies with the standards & practices regulations the FCC put into place after the quiz show scandals of the 1950s. (Unless those apply to television only, which wouldn't make a whole lot of sense.)

It would seem like you're right, unless there's a loophole here.

https://www.fcc.gov/general/broadcast-contests

It is unlawful for any person, with intent to deceive the listening or viewing public:

To engage in any artifice or scheme for the purpose of prearranging or predetermining in whole or in part the outcome of a purportedly bona fide contest of intellectual knowledge, intellectual skill, or chance.

[bing101]

Here is a PSA from 1992 from Will Smith.
https://people.com/movies/oscars-2022-will-smith-the-more-you-know-ad-video-1992-chris-rock-slap/
Well if only the 2022 Will Smith listened to the advice 1992 Will Smith is saying here

[Bobby5280]

The Academy banned Will Smith from their organization and its events for 10 years. I never expected them to take the Oscar he won, but I'm kind of surprised they issued a 10 year ban. That's stiffer punishment than I expected; I figured he would be gone maybe a year or two. He'll be 63 years old 10 years from now. There's no telling what shape his acting career will be in by 2032.

[Scott5114]

This will put the Academy in a really awkward spot if he turns in another Oscar-worthy performance in the next 10 years and doesn't get nominated. Whoever wins that year will permanently have "yes, they won, but Will Smith would have if not for the Academy being too fixated on punishing him" attached to any discussion of that Oscar. It will make the Academy seem even more irrelevant and illegitimate than it already does.

[Max Rockatansky]

Luckily the Academy Awards hardly ever has enough of a consensus winner that they probably wouldn't have that issue.

Finally someone made a good Bully Maguire vs Will Smith meme:

[Scott5114]

Luckily the Academy Awards hardly ever has enough of a consensus winner that they probably wouldn't have that issue.

That's actually exactly why I say that. There's enough "X film should have got the award but it wasn't even nominated" every year without there being a publicly known reason that a film might get snubbed.

[jakeroot]

Luckily the Academy Awards hardly ever has enough of a consensus winner that they probably wouldn't have that issue.

That's actually exactly why I say that. There's enough "X film should have got the award but it wasn't even nominated" every year without there being a publicly known reason that a film might get snubbed.

He was only nominated three times without the shadow he cast over his own head. Something tells me the more likely course from here on is that he just isn't as involved in films as he once was. After all, why pick an actor you know won't get nominated?

[J N Winkler]

He was only nominated three times without the shadow he cast over his own head. Something tells me the more likely course from here on is that he just isn't as involved in films as he once was. After all, why pick an actor you know won't get nominated?

I think he's still bankable.  Slapping another man who makes a joke at your wife's expense is far more readily forgivable than getting drunk and spewing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, and Mel Gibson is still a member in good standing of the AMPAS.  (In fact, a Google search on {Is Mel Gibson a member of the Academy?} turns up articles suggesting he should be stripped of his own Oscars if Will Smith is compelled to return his Best Actor statuette.)

[english si]

The Academy banned Will Smith from their organization and its events for 10 years. I never expected them to take the Oscar he won, but I'm kind of surprised they issued a 10 year ban. That's stiffer punishment than I expected; I figured he would be gone maybe a year or two.

he's probably laughing. First prize: a ticket to The Oscars. Second prize: a ticket to next year's Oscars as well.

Future awards for Smith are meaningless. He has one, so a second is unnecessary for being on the record as a quality actor.

Job prospects for Smith are more damaged by the punch than the punishment. He can make the popular stuff if he wants to do that, or do what he's done a lot and finance his own movies (all those films with him and his son to try and get the son's career going) - if the Academy doesn't like him, there's other awards. And awards aren't the only reason to make a film with high art - if you want a decent black actor about that age who is a bankable star, you cast Smith.

[Max Rockatansky]

The Academy banned Will Smith from their organization and its events for 10 years. I never expected them to take the Oscar he won, but I'm kind of surprised they issued a 10 year ban. That's stiffer punishment than I expected; I figured he would be gone maybe a year or two.

he's probably laughing. First prize: a ticket to The Oscars. Second prize: a ticket to next year's Oscars as well.

Future awards for Smith are meaningless. He has one, so a second is unnecessary for being on the record as a quality actor.

Job prospects for Smith are more damaged by the punch than the punishment. He can make the popular stuff if he wants to do that, or do what he's done a lot and finance his own movies (all those films with him and his son to try and get the son's career going) - if the Academy doesn't like him, there's other awards. And awards aren't the only reason to make a film with high art - if you want a decent black actor about that age who is a bankable star, you cast Smith.

His son was an insufferably bad actor.  After Earth in particular was so bad that it wasn't even enjoyable in a "so bad it's good"  kind of way.

[jakeroot]

He was only nominated three times without the shadow he cast over his own head. Something tells me the more likely course from here on is that he just isn't as involved in films as he once was. After all, why pick an actor you know won't get nominated?

I think he's still bankable.  Slapping another man who makes a joke at your wife's expense is far more readily forgivable than getting drunk and spewing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, and Mel Gibson is still a member in good standing of the AMPAS.  (In fact, a Google search on {Is Mel Gibson a member of the Academy?} turns up articles suggesting he should be stripped of his own Oscars if Will Smith is compelled to return his Best Actor statuette.)

Point taken. I might still argue that many can forgive words (less so today than in years past, perhaps), but not physical contact, regardless of (a) whether harm was intended, nor (b) the level of physical contact.

[Stephane Dumas]

Luckily the Academy Awards hardly ever has enough of a consensus winner that they probably wouldn't have that issue.

Finally someone made a good Bully Maguire vs Will Smith meme:

I wonder if they'll have a re-match.

Meanwhile it was bound to happen: a Downfall parody clip where Hitler rants about Will Smith.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl95U4_wVAA

[J N Winkler]

Point taken. I might still argue that many can forgive words (less so today than in years past, perhaps), but not physical contact, regardless of (a) whether harm was intended, nor (b) the level of physical contact.

Another way of looking at it is the rules for Brady disclosures or, alternately, the rules for certifying a police officer.

If a police officer strikes someone in public, this is not necessarily disclosable to a defense attorney under Brady v. Maryland.  If he or she spews racist or anti-Semitic nonsense, on the other hand, this is disclosable since it proves prejudice and can be used to impeach him or her on the witness stand.

In Kansas, a person who had a misdemeanor conviction for slapping someone in public would still be able to receive certification as a police officer because the only disqualifiers related to past criminal record (including expunged convictions) are (1) felonies, (2) misdemeanors of domestic violence (Will Smith and Chris Rock are not members of the same household), and (3) misdemeanors that reflect on the honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, or competence of the applicant.

[Bobby5280]

Job prospects for Smith are more damaged by the punch than the punishment. He can make the popular stuff if he wants to do that, or do what he's done a lot and finance his own movies (all those films with him and his son to try and get the son's career going) - if the Academy doesn't like him, there's other awards. And awards aren't the only reason to make a film with high art - if you want a decent black actor about that age who is a bankable star, you cast Smith.

One problem is Will Smith isn't spring chicken young anymore. He mostly plays lead role, name above the title, action hero parts. Guys in their 50's can continue getting those parts for only a limited amount of time -as long as they look young enough and train like hell in the gym.

Those with serious acting chops usually start transitioning over more serious roles when they're in their 30's and 40's. The movie stars who can't diversify into more serious work, character acting or comedy end up on the fast track to B-movie hell. They wind up in lots of junk-grade, straight-to-video crap. That is if they want to keep acting at all. Another option is moving behind the camera as a producer or director. It takes clout to be a producer. It takes talent, clout and a lot of other management traits to make it as a director.

Smith's Oscar-winning part in King Richard was an outlier to the types of movies he usually makes. He has played in very few "grown up" movies. Ali and The Legend of Bagger Vance (both made over 20 years ago) were successful. Others like The Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds were less so.

Anyway, Will Smith has to figure out some way to start making more of those serious type movies as he continues getting older. Being an Oscar winner will help. But not being eligible to win another Oscar for 10 years will hurt his chances landing key parts. The Oscars might be meaningless to action movie fans. But they're still important in marketing for "serious movies."

[kkt]

Medically-caused hair loss is a hell of a subject for a joke.  If that's the best Chris Rock can do, he should consider a career change.

Not to excuse the slap.

[hbelkins]

Maybe Smith has some street cred back now and can return to a rap career. 

Medically-caused hair loss is a hell of a subject for a joke.  If that's the best Chris Rock can do, he should consider a career change.

Not to excuse the slap.

I believe I read somewhere -- I tend to avoid pop culture stuff but this has been unavoidable with saturation all over social and traditional media -- that Rock was unaware of her medical condition.

I will admit to not only being unaware of it, but unaware of what alopecia is, as I'd never heard of it.

[kphoger]

At this point, it bears repeating the following:

I find it especially baffling Chris Rock of all people would say such an insensitive joke given one of his past projects. He starred in and co-produced the excellent documentary Good Hair in 2009. He knows as well as any man just how important good hair is to black women.

As part of that production, Chris Rock had researched the very condition we're talking about:  alopecia.

Shame on you @chrisrock Didn't we sit down and talk at length about how painfully humiliating and difficult it is to navigate life as a bald woman in a society that is hair obsessed?

[JayhawkCO]

As part of that production, Will Smith had researched the very condition we're talking about:  alopecia.

Assuming you mean Chris Rock there.

[kphoger]

Assuming you mean Chris Rock there.

:facepalm:

Yep, fixed that.

[triplemultiplex]

Sorry, but baldness is not a real medical condition.  100% fair game.  Same for joking that someone is fat or old.  It's not like Jada had cancer or something, Jesus.  Such a tepid jab, too.  "Oh hey you kinda look like this other famously attractive and talented person from their memorable role!"  Boo freakin' hoo.

This only happened cuz Will was already in the doghouse and got glared at by Jada for laughing, so his attempt to cover his own ass spilled over into this bullcrap.  He used that Oscar-award winning acting talent to put on a performance that he was upset on behalf of his wife.  But because he's not good at ad-libbing, it went off the rails.

I'm amused the "punishment" is Will Smith is out of The Academy.  Oh, you mean he doesn't have to sit through boring-ass award shows or watch any depressing Oscar-bait movies for the next decade?  Boy, you showed him!  That'll send a stern lesson to anyone looking to make anything remotely interesting happen at an awards show ever again.

[J N Winkler]

I will admit to not only being unaware of it, but unaware of what alopecia is, as I'd never heard of it.

I have known of the word for decades, and I have a neighbor who lost all of his hair within a year, going from a full head with minimal age-related thinning to completely bald, and attributed it to alopecia.  However, I'd say this incident has raised consciousness of the ways in which it differs from pattern baldness, both male (receding hairline at temples and crown) and female (generalized thinning).