94th Annual Oscars

Shane

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Variety is reporting that the joke Chris said out there about Jada wasn't in the original script. Evidently, Rock went out of his way to adlib a joke about Jada.
That’s pretty much every stand up comedians schtick no? Ad lib and pick on people in the audience?
 

Covert Rain

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That’s pretty much every stand up comedians schtick no? Ad lib and pick on people in the audience?
I guess he has made them his punchline before. I guess it could be coincidental even though the room was packed with potential other targets.
 

Covert Rain

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Chris Rock now issues his apology. Note he doesn't deny that he knew about Jada's condition.

“As a comedian it can be difficult to understand which lines are to be crossed and which ones aren’t. Last night I crossed a line that I shouldn’t have and paid the enormous price of my reputation as a renown comedian. Comedy is never about poking fun at or making lite of people with major ordeals happening in their lives. Comedy is about using real life circumstances to create laughter and bring light to an otherwise dark world. With that said, I sincerely apologize to my friend’s Jada Pinkett-Smith, Will Smith, and the rest of the Smith family for the disrespect and disregard I displayed which was unfortunately broadcast for the world to see. I hope that, with time, forgiveness can come of this situation, and we can all be better, more considerate people in the end.” - Chris Rock
 

Raindog

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Yeah, if you pay attention, you can hear Rock kind of mutter after Will Smith yelled at him something that sounds like "Oh, I could say a lot more..." His voice kind of trails off, but it seemed like he was resisting launching something more scathing and just decided to de-escalate the situation.
 

Russ Smith

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Variety is reporting that the joke Chris said out there about Jada wasn't in the original script. Evidently, Rock went out of his way to adlib a joke about Jada.

I went to HS with a guy named Suli McCullough who's a comedian and he was one of the writers for the show. he's on FB and he posted that while everyone is focused on one joke and the aftermath of it they're missing all the hard work that went into the show. Someone asked so Suli did you write the joke, and he said no I don't think any of us did. Which seems to reinforce what Variety is saying that the joke was not in the script, Rock did that on his own. Note he didn't directly say he did that on his own just that his answer to did you write it seemed to imply none of the comedy writers wrote that joke.
 

Russ Smith

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Chris Rock now issues his apology. Note he doesn't deny that he knew about Jada's condition.

“As a comedian it can be difficult to understand which lines are to be crossed and which ones aren’t. Last night I crossed a line that I shouldn’t have and paid the enormous price of my reputation as a renown comedian. Comedy is never about poking fun at or making lite of people with major ordeals happening in their lives. Comedy is about using real life circumstances to create laughter and bring light to an otherwise dark world. With that said, I sincerely apologize to my friend’s Jada Pinkett-Smith, Will Smith, and the rest of the Smith family for the disrespect and disregard I displayed which was unfortunately broadcast for the world to see. I hope that, with time, forgiveness can come of this situation, and we can all be better, more considerate people in the end.” - Chris Rock


according to something Shaun King forwarded on FB, this quote is not actually from Rock. I forget the exact wording but King said something like for those of you who won't believe until a white person says it and then posted the there's an apology out there from Rock, it starts off with "as a comedian", he didn't actually issue that apology.
 

Covert Rain

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according to something Shaun King forwarded on FB, this quote is not actually from Rock. I forget the exact wording but King said something like for those of you who won't believe until a white person says it and then posted the there's an apology out there from Rock, it starts off with "as a comedian", he didn't actually issue that apology.
Yep, just read that. It was a fake apology.
 

DeAnna

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That’s was absolutely staged Chris Rock head barely moved… Didn’t touch his face puts his hands behind his back… These guys need to do something to try and get rating up.
That was staged, IMO. I mean, Will had perfect form - and who open slaps another man? Usually it's a punch. Also, if you see someone coming at you, normal reaction is to move out of the way. Chris Rock just stood there and took it. Fake.
 

Covert Rain

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according to something Shaun King forwarded on FB, this quote is not actually from Rock. I forget the exact wording but King said something like for those of you who won't believe until a white person says it and then posted the there's an apology out there from Rock, it starts off with "as a comedian", he didn't actually issue that apology.
Why do I have a feeling when Chris releases a statement it won't be what everyone is expecting which in turn prolongs this?
 
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dscher

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That was staged, IMO. I mean, Will had perfect form - and who open slaps another man? Usually it's a punch. Also, if you see someone coming at you, normal reaction is to move out of the way. Chris Rock just stood there and took it. Fake.
Ric Flair set it straight. It was a WWE slap. We all know the storylines in the WWE aren't scripted.
 

Covert Rain

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Re: Will Smith Oscar performance. A true apology contains no "buts," real or implied.
I don't doubt the regret and him being sorry but yeah...the apology is weakened by the "buts". Even if he was simply trying to explain his reactions it's better to be focused on the action not the reason for the action. It comes off as excuses even when it's not the intent.
 

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Ric Flair set it straight. It was a WWE slap. We all know the storylines in the WWE aren't scripted.
I’ve still yet to see any logical reason Will Smith, a man with more money than God, attention any time he wants it, with the ego the size of a solar system… who has been DYING for Oscar recognition for the last 25 years, willingly decides to crap all over his coronation in that moment… so ABC might get a small bump in the ratings for the last hour of the broadcast while the next day, instead of talking about what a great actor Smith is, the discussion is whether or not he’s a piece of crap or not.

Conspiracy theories have become so stupid at this point.
 
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Brian in Mesa

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That was staged, IMO. I mean, Will had perfect form - and who open slaps another man? Usually it's a punch. Also, if you see someone coming at you, normal reaction is to move out of the way. Chris Rock just stood there and took it. Fake.
That's the MOST Will Smith thing about the whole incident. Had he punched him I'd believe it was staged because Will is definitely a slapper.
 

Raindog

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I’ve still yet to see any logical reason Will Smith, a man with more money than God, attention any time he wants it, with the ego the size of a solar system… who has been DYING for Oscar recognition for the last 25 years, willingly decides to crap all over his coronation in that moment… so ABC might get a small bump in the ratings for the last hour of the broadcast while the next day, instead of talking about what a great actor Smith is, the discussion is whether or not he’s a piece of crap or not.

Conspiracy theories have become so stupid at this point.

Indeed. Anyone who is insisting this is all some kind of kayfabe put-on is just being... frankly silly. The reason Smith slapped Chris Rock instead of punching him is that he had the (admittedly minimal) presence of mind to recognize that if he had thrown a haymaker, there would have been NO question he would have immediately been arrested, hauled off the show, and suffered far greater repercussions than he did... no ifs, ands, or buts.

Just giving Rock a rather weak open hand slap got his ego-driven point across but kept it from definitively entering the realm of aggravated assault... not necessarily from a legal perspective, but at least from a public perception perspective. I am pretty sure that as bad as W. Smith's judgment was here, he was at least keeping in mind the more serious ramifications if he had busted C. Rock's face with a genuinely violent punch.

Beyond that, all the reporting the last couple days pretty much confirmed that everyone who was present and witnessed it first hand verified it as spontaneous and really occurring.
 

dscher

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I’ve still yet to see any logical reason Will Smith, a man with more money than God, attention any time he wants it, with the ego the size of a solar system… who has been DYING for Oscar recognition for the last 25 years, willingly decides to crap all over his coronation in that moment… so ABC might get a small bump in the ratings for the last hour of the broadcast while the next day, instead of talking about what a great actor Smith is, the discussion is whether or not he’s a piece of crap or not.

Conspiracy theories have become so stupid at this point.
Fair enough. I guess we'll just have to stick with the fact Will Smith slaps like a pro wrestler from now on... Real or fake, I don't care. It's just Hollywood. No one should really get too hung up about actors and their egos. My only observation was that wonky looking slap....

But, It's working out for Chris Rock so far...

 

Rivercard

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Fair enough. I guess we'll just have to stick with the fact Will Smith slaps like a pro wrestler from now on... Real or fake, I don't care. It's just Hollywood. No one should really get too hung up about actors and their egos. My only observation was that wonky looking slap....

But, It's working out for Chris Rock so far...


Some have said Chris Rock took part in this in order to boost tickets sales which is another goofy conspiracy theory, he certainly doesn't need help selling tickets.
 

dscher

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Some have said Chris Rock took part in this in order to boost tickets sales which is another goofy conspiracy theory, he certainly doesn't need help selling tickets.
Never said he did. Just that it helped. No such thing as bad publicity. ;)
 

Covert Rain

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I’ve still yet to see any logical reason Will Smith, a man with more money than God, attention any time he wants it, with the ego the size of a solar system… who has been DYING for Oscar recognition for the last 25 years, willingly decides to crap all over his coronation in that moment… so ABC might get a small bump in the ratings for the last hour of the broadcast while the next day, instead of talking about what a great actor Smith is, the discussion is whether or not he’s a piece of crap or not.

Conspiracy theories have become so stupid at this point.
Bingo. This doesn't help his reputation. This doesn't help him land new jobs. This doesn't elevate his icon status. It actually does the opposite of all of that. He is getting made fun of across the board by other comedians. He detracted from his own crowning career accomplishment. It's caused a ton of embarrassment for his family. The LAPD got involved. The Academy will take action according to Whoopie Goldberg who is on the board.

None of it makes a lick of sense for Will Smith. Just more conspiracy garbage.
 

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Never said he did. Just that it helped. No such thing as bad publicity. ;)

Ya, wasn't saying you thought that personally.

I agree there is almost no bad publicity. Subway Jared's surprise news stories are an outlier, jury is still out on Jesse Smolette. :D
 
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