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The Oscars

I'm sorry for Jada Pinkett Smith, having alopecia must be really hard. But this just feels like yet another take on men 'defending' their womenfolk using violence. Which is so fucking old and tedious and shit. If that were me, I'd be utterly fucked off at him. (By 'him' I mean Will Smith though I guess I'd be pretty fucked off at Chris Rock too.)

(Also interesting that initially he laughs along, then he sees his wife rolling her eyes and looking pissed off and it's only then that he heads for the stage.)

100% this.

Chris Rock IMO overstepped a line in a directed comment towards an individual about something that is a very sensitive issue (that hinges a lot around female appearance, perceived attractiveness, and self-esteem) and deserved to be called on it, but the way it came across was a bit menfolk fighting for a woman's honour type thing. Yawn.
 
The Smiths’ relationship has been mad tabloid fodder for years. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of urbanites had missed it due to not clicking on that type of bullshit. But I’ve seen some headlines and I can’t help but think this shit joke was a last straw, even if it wasn’t directed toward their marriage. It’s a fucking nasty mess and has made me really uncomfortable 😕 What a world.
 
The Smiths’ relationship has been mad tabloid fodder for years. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of urbanites had missed it due to not clicking on that type of bullshit. But I’ve seen some headlines and I can’t help but think this shit joke was a last straw, even if it wasn’t directed toward their marriage. It’s a fucking nasty mess and has made me really uncomfortable 😕 What a world.

The last I'd read was that they were in an open marriage type thing a bit like one of the Bee Gees.
 
If Smith had whacked Gervais, he'd have deserved a medal.

As it is, he should have been arrested on the spot, taken away in handcuffs, and charged with assault.

Yes. He shouldn't be partying knocking back champagne singing gettin jiggy wit it hours after committing common assault. He should have been cuffed. It's not like there's no footage of the incident.
 
Yes. He shouldn't be partying knocking back champagne singing gettin jiggy wit it hours after committing common assault. He should have been cuffed. It's not like there's no footage of the incident.

Chris Rock would rather have the publicity


i.e it is part of the bloody show
 
I didn’t get the “joke” or why it’s offensive against someone with alopecia, but surely if it wasn’t a prearranged stunt then Will Smith has to get in trouble for this? You can’t go assaulting someone on live TV in front of a big audience then just get a free pass from the police.
 
I didn’t get the “joke” or why it’s offensive against someone with alopecia, but surely if it wasn’t a prearranged stunt then Will Smith has to get in trouble for this? You can’t go assaulting someone on live TV in front of a big audience then just get a free pass from the police.

He made a reference to the GI Jane movie (in which Demi Moore had a shaved head) while pointing at Jada (asking her how the sequel was going), who has been quite public about her issues with alopecia.
 
GI Jane = bald

He made a reference to the GI Jane movie (in which Demi Moore had a shaved head) while pointing at Jada (asking her how the sequel was going), who has been quite public about her issues with alopecia.
Oh, got it. Well yeah of course it’s wrong but it should have been Chris Rock getting the public condemnation after the event for going too far, rather than Will Smith making himself the bad guy.

I don’t really get this American tradition of hiring a comedian to insult the guests at an award ceremony. Ricky Gervais has obviously done it and been hired back for multiple occasions to the Golden Globes and now Chris Rock doing the same thing. Why do the celebs keep turning up to these shows?
 
Anyway as far as the films go I won't be in a rush to watch Coda.

Sounds like the sort of thing you'd imagine from a Hollywood/Apple film about people with disabilities. Maybe the French film it's based on is better.
 
I agree with what's been said about men fighting over a woman's 'honour'.

At the same time, there's a part of me that quite liked the idea that 'doing comedy' isn't a free pass and that if you say deeply personal stuff you might not get away with it. That's not an excuse for Smith to exercise his masculinity, just a feeling that if you say something designed to be be hurtful and cross the line, you don't do it in an excuse bubble if you are on a stage. Of course Smith doing this means Rock sort of did get away with it. Far better if someone came to the mic and challenged him. Simple questions like 'why do you think it's okay to come out with stuff like that' would have been far more effective. And of course it should have been up to Pinkett Smith to decide what if anything was said.

Having said all that, Jimmy Carr, Ricky Gervais et al deserve a serious kicking. :thumbs:
 
I agree with what's been said about men fighting over a woman's 'honour'.

At the same time, there's a part of me that quite liked the idea that 'doing comedy' isn't a free pass and that if you say deeply personal stuff you might not get away with it. That's not an excuse for Smith to exercise his masculinity, just a feeling that if you say something designed to be be hurtful and cross the line, you don't do it in an excuse bubble if you are on a stage. Of course Smith doing this means Rock sort of did get away with it. Far better if someone came to the mic and challenged him. Simple questions like 'why do you think it's okay to come out with stuff like that' would have been far more effective. And of course it should have been up to Pinkett Smith to decide what if anything was said.

Having said all that, Jimmy Carr, Ricky Gervais et al deserve a serious kicking. :thumbs:

Liked except for the last line - I mean I don't like them but not worth physical violence.
 
Will Smith's acceptance speech was pretty out there. He seems to think he's on some sort of god-given mission.

"Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family. In this time in my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world.

"Making this film, I got to protect Aunjanue Ellis, who is one of the most strongest, most delicate people I’ve ever met. I got to protect Saniyya [Sidney] and Demi [Singleton], the two actresses that play Venus and Serena. I’m being called on in my life to love people. And to protect people and to be a river to my people.

"I know, to do what we do, you gotta be able to take abuse. You gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you, and you gotta smile and pretend like that’s OK.

"Denzel [Washington] said to me a few minutes ago, 'At your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you.' I want to be a vessel for love. I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena … and the entire Williams family for entrusting me with your story.

"That’s what I want to do. I want to be an ambassador of that kind of love and care and concern. I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award.

"It’s not about winning an award for me; it’s about being able to shine a light on all the people … and the entire cast and crew of King Richard and Venus and Serena and the entire Williams family. Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams! But, love will make you do crazy things."

"To my mother, a lot of this moment is really complicated for me, but to my mother — she didn’t want to come out, she has her knitting friends, she has a knitting crew she’s watching with — being able to love and care for my mother and my family and my wife — I’m taking up too much time — thank you for this honor.

"Thank you for this moment. I thank you on behalf of Richard and Oracene and the entire Williams family. Thank you. I’m hoping the Academy invites me back. Thank you."

A river for your people? fucks sake.
 
I agree with what's been said about men fighting over a woman's 'honour'.

At the same time, there's a part of me that quite liked the idea that 'doing comedy' isn't a free pass and that if you say deeply personal stuff you might not get away with it. That's not an excuse for Smith to exercise his masculinity, just a feeling that if you say something designed to be be hurtful and cross the line, you don't do it in an excuse bubble if you are on a stage. Of course Smith doing this means Rock sort of did get away with it. Far better if someone came to the mic and challenged him. Simple questions like 'why do you think it's okay to come out with stuff like that' would have been far more effective. And of course it should have been up to Pinkett Smith to decide what if anything was said.

Having said all that, Jimmy Carr, Ricky Gervais et al deserve a serious kicking. :thumbs:
It also turned what was a shit but throwaway joke into a huge news story. I mean, I don't think most of us would have even been aware the joke had been made and I certainly would have had no idea about Pinkett Smith's alopecia without this nonsense. (Could be Pinkett Smith wants to raise awareness of alopecia for all I know -- and good luck to her if she does -- but his actions feel unhelpful and extremely disempowering in this context.)

Will Smith's acceptance speech was pretty out there. He seems to think he's on some sort of god-given mission.

"Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family. In this time in my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world.

"Making this film, I got to protect Aunjanue Ellis, who is one of the most strongest, most delicate people I’ve ever met. I got to protect Saniyya [Sidney] and Demi [Singleton], the two actresses that play Venus and Serena. I’m being called on in my life to love people. And to protect people and to be a river to my people.

"I know, to do what we do, you gotta be able to take abuse. You gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you, and you gotta smile and pretend like that’s OK.

"Denzel [Washington] said to me a few minutes ago, 'At your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you.' I want to be a vessel for love. I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena … and the entire Williams family for entrusting me with your story.

"That’s what I want to do. I want to be an ambassador of that kind of love and care and concern. I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award.

"It’s not about winning an award for me; it’s about being able to shine a light on all the people … and the entire cast and crew of King Richard and Venus and Serena and the entire Williams family. Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams! But, love will make you do crazy things."

"To my mother, a lot of this moment is really complicated for me, but to my mother — she didn’t want to come out, she has her knitting friends, she has a knitting crew she’s watching with — being able to love and care for my mother and my family and my wife — I’m taking up too much time — thank you for this honor.

"Thank you for this moment. I thank you on behalf of Richard and Oracene and the entire Williams family. Thank you. I’m hoping the Academy invites me back. Thank you."

A river for your people? fucks sake.
All this protecting, masculinity bullshit. What an absolute twat.
 
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