If A White Actor.....

[mickd1961]

Assaulted Chris Rock live on TV would he be treated as a hero and the matter be brushed under the carpet with his actions being widely regarded as being the result of severe provocation and therefore okay?

[Albionic68]

Assaulted Chris Rock live on TV would he be treated as a hero and the matter be brushed under the carpet with his actions being widely regarded as being the result of severe provocation and therefore okay?

No idea. Tell you something though. If my wife had alopecia and someone publicly took the p out of her I'd more than likely be hitting them more than once (if they were still standing after the first one of course).

[baggieal]

No idea. Tell you something though. If my wife had alopecia and someone publicly took the p out of her I'd more than likely be hitting them more than once (if they were still standing after the first one of course).

I agree but there’s a time and place! Why not hit him during a break or later? Sadly some of these celebrities thrive on news whether it’s something like last nights - depression or being seen at Pizza Express!

I couldn’t give two f ucks about celebrities or the Queen having Covid - more concerned about the poor people you know who don’t have two pennies to rub together!

[Albionic68]

I agree but there’s a time and place! Why not hit him during a break or later?......

He took the p out of his wife in public. He embarrassed her in public. I imagine Will Smith's blood was up and he decided to return the compliment. In public.

If I were in his position I can't imagine I'd have bothered waiting for a quiet moment to avoid the embarrassment of the person I was belting either. Good on him as far as I'm concerned.

[phild]

'The Academy does not condone violence of any form' The Academy states

Therefore Will Smith will have to be stripped of his Oscar or it will have condoned it.

[Albionic68]

'The Academy does not condone violence of any form' The Academy states

Therefore Will Smith will have to be stripped of his Oscar or it will have condoned it.

It's not as black and white for me Phil, though I agree it's certainly a grey area at the least. I'd be more inclined to award him a second Oscar for making one of those fawning, self congratulatory excuses for an evening mildly interesting for a change though to be honest.

[baggieal]

He took the p out of his wife in public. He embarrassed her in public. I imagine Will Smith's blood was up and he decided to return the compliment. In public.

If I were in his position I can't imagine I'd have bothered waiting for a quiet moment to avoid the embarrassment of the person I was belting either. Good on him as far as I'm concerned.

There’s a time and place!! Loads of publicity over this and had it been anything to do with a gay - an it or they - or god forbid a black person then wow - heads would have rolled!

What next - spiralling into depression because of this and telling the whole world! Who cares about wealthy celebrities!!! The other day we heard about the drummer from Foo and oh ah and such a shame - well the stupid moron took drugs so his own fault! Not one inch of sympathy!

If no action is taken from the Oscars then this gives the green light for a footballer or anybody else just to smack somebody because of an abusive remark!

Rightly or wrongly being rich and in the public eye gets vicious comments. Katie Price must get upset with all the disgusting remarks about Harvey her boy who is a lovely lad - does she go around smacking them all?

[Albionic68]

There’s a time and place!! Loads of publicity over this and had it been anything to do with a gay - an it or they - or god forbid a black person then wow - heads would have rolled!......

Al', sit down, I've got shocking news. Black people were involved. Aside from the audience they were actually the only ones involved and Mr. Rock's head very nearly did roll 🤣 .

Fk the Oscars, they're a load of old b@ll@cks anyway 😉 .

[baggieal]

'The Academy does not condone violence of any form' The Academy states

Therefore Will Smith will have to be stripped of his Oscar or it will have condoned it.

Exactly!! Should Eric Cantona have been let off or a future Eric Cantona do the same kick? Should Conor Gallagher jump in the crowd when someone shouts rent boy? Should Wayne Bridge have jumped in the crowd when John Terry was shafting his mrs and the crowd were shouting obscenities!

Being famous comes with abuse as well as riches! Not right but the way it goes!

[Omegstrat6]

Don't think colour of their skin has a part in this-particularly as both black. When you look at the coverage, initially Will Smith seems OK with the "joke" but his wife's face shows she was definitely not and that is what led him to respond. Tbh, whether Rock is seen as an "edgie" comedian or not I don't think that using someone's illness as a butt of a joke is acceptable. Would people have been more shocked if she had been autistic or her hair loss was due to cancer rather than alopecia?

As others have said, don't think anyone on here would have let such a joke at their wife's expense stand but Smith should have known better in this situation and could have verbally called him out rather than physically lumping him. Resorting to physical violence - though certainly understandable and tempting!-never looks particularly smart and should really only ever be used as a last resort but other than his anger over the comment I think his reaction was fuelled by two things -there fact that the two have some history already and his emotional state. You can call it as the atypical actor's over emotionality but Will Smith was clearly moved by his character's motivation in the film he won the Oscar for as his rambling acceptance speech showed.

Another time, another place maybe it wouldn't have come to a physical blow but he has a point in that celebrities are only people regardless of fame and fortune and if you actively put yourself in the public eye you should expect a degree of public criticism but surely there is a line which it is not acceptable to cross and they shouldn't have to put up with some levels of "disrespect" as he put it. We can't all be expected to have thick skins all the time.