Oscars 2022

[Johnnie]

[pruitt2]

yall all seem very casually okay with a crowd member coming out of a crowd and hitting a comic for telling jokes at a time and place where he was paid to tell jokes.

There is NOTHING you can say into a microphone that justifies a fucking crowd member being violent to an entertainer. Literally, Will Smith needs to learn how to take a joke. Its scary that yall think if your feelings get hurt you deserve physical pain. What is wrong with you people?

My daughter mentioned this just now at dinner.

Wait until some heckler in some club gets pissed off and attacks a comic. Fuck Will Smith. Showboating fake morality play - then trying to tie it in to the role he played in some movie.

[EnochRoot]

"Rather than being escorted from the building, he took his seat again on the front row and was seen laughing and cheering for the rest of the event. There was no update for viewers on how poor Chris was faring."⁠ ⁠But "a famous actor striking someone and his peers being seen immediately excusing it will, for many, resonate uncomfortably with the #MeToo scandals of recent years, which revealed that powerful Hollywood men could more or less behave as they pleased."⁠

⁠"Will Smith hit someone on live television and got away with it, because he’s Will Smith. That’s the event for which the 2022 Oscars will be remembered."⁠

--Billy Crystal

[duff]

yall all seem very casually okay with a crowd member coming out of a crowd and hitting a comic for telling jokes at a time and place where he was paid to tell jokes.

There is NOTHING you can say into a microphone that justifies a fucking crowd member being violent to an entertainer. Literally, Will Smith needs to learn how to take a joke. Its scary that yall think if your feelings get hurt you deserve physical pain. What is wrong with you people?

My daughter mentioned this just now at dinner.

Wait until some heckler in some club gets pissed off and attacks a comic. Fuck Will Smith. Showboating fake morality play - then trying to tie it in to the role he played in some movie.

This was similar to a tweet from Kathy Griffin. And I am team TT for this. Fuck Will Smith.

[rass]

I sort of like the take that this is just an issue for the two rich famous dudes and everything in the aftermath of the slap (maybe excluding Smith being able to stay in the audience but including “won’t someone think of the comedians!!!?)”) is embarrassingly overblown. But no shit.

[Reaper]

[sancarlos]

Funny, most years there is a lot of discussion regarding who won what award. This year, it seems any Oscar discussion is focused on you-know-what.

Well, there was this…

[Johnnie]

[mister d]

Solid apology, convincingly from the heart, but does anyone find it weird he doesn’t even mention future comedians who might now be too scared to look a woman in the audience in the eye and ridicule the side effects of a disease she’s currently battling?

[EnochRoot]

Sounds like someone unafraid of consequences of the law.

“I am a work in progress.”

Shut the fuck up dude.

[mister d]

I get "the law", but seeing the constant "clearly unafraid of consequences" only being applied to one side here is a little weird?

[Nonlinear FC]

I just don't find what Chris Rock said to be so incredibly horrific. I get where you are coming from Deleware, but it's that sliding scale of aggrievement where we just aren't going to line up here.

Say something about my kids. That's really where my line is and it's INCREDIBLY arbitrary. My wife would kick my ass in a fight, so I just find this whole "keep my wife's name outya mouth" to be silly. And in a relationship where she is openly sleeping around?

It's all just very fucking weird.

[mister d]

I personally wouldn't go around slapping anyone because you need to be sure you could win that fight and then throw a really great slap to justify the act (which, Smith did have). BUT ... trying to imagine my wife dealing with a disease for 3-4 years and then having someone who we're not close with publicly mock the side effects, I get the reaction. And I think this is one of those things where if it happened four different ways with selected actors, all of us here would have very different reactions. I think even if you reverse the two and its Rock slapping Smith, more people would be on board because Rock is a far more likeable person.

[A_B]

Chris rock is more likable? I thought everyone hates Chris.

Joking aside I think most people would put smith as the more likable because he’s more bubblegum.

[Johnnie]

Sounds like someone unafraid of consequences of the law.

“I am a work in progress.”

Shut the fuck up dude.

Will Smith is 53. So yea. If you're that old and still a "work in progress," you need to talk to someone.

(And for that matter, Chris Rock is 57.)

[testuser2]

It's a pretty low expectation for an adult to control themselves enough to avoid violence. Get up and walk out. Talk to Chris later. Complain about it in an interview. Even get your agent to do it. He has so many options that many of us don't and I'm disappointed that is what he did.

Don't they have an open relationship? A weird point to start caring after your wife is out banging other dudes and a comic making a joke about them.

[TT2.0]

Solid apology, convincingly from the heart, but does anyone find it weird he doesn’t even mention future comedians who might now be too scared to look a woman in the audience in the eye and ridicule the side effects of a disease she’s currently battling?

its not about the joke, its about the idea that if someone doesn't like a joke by their own standards, its okay to go punch the comic. How many drunk guys in clubs are going to be "defending their wifes honor" and rushing the stage. Fun fact, in my 3 years, 2 people have tried to physically assault me. Most comics I know have a story or two like this. Its not about the joke at all, its about the fact that you've decided its okay for crowds to set the standard for excusable violence

[mister d]

If you noticed a trans person in your audience and decided to make jokes directly at their expense, I wouldn't care at all if they smacked you. This whole "anything a comedian says is ok because they're a comedian" thing is nonsense. Its just the reverse "I paid for my ticket so I'll yell whatever I want". Be a decent human and you'll be fine.

[Johnnie]

Slapping people is a decent human response?

[degenerasian]

Solid apology, convincingly from the heart, but does anyone find it weird he doesn’t even mention future comedians who might now be too scared to look a woman in the audience in the eye and ridicule the side effects of a disease she’s currently battling?

its not about the joke, its about the idea that if someone doesn't like a joke by their own standards, its okay to go punch the comic. How many drunk guys in clubs are going to be "defending their wifes honor" and rushing the stage. Fun fact, in my 3 years, 2 people have tried to physically assault me. Most comics I know have a story or two like this. Its not about the joke at all, its about the fact that you've decided its okay for crowds to set the standard for excusable violence

You could see Rock's mind racing a million miles an hour after the slap. Listening to Smith curse him out and just going, "All right." He wasn't really listening, Smith had to repeat it.

Like WTF just happened, I got slapped live at the Oscars. He could have escalated it with a follow up joke but thought better of it.

[TT2.0]

If you noticed a trans person in your audience and decided to make jokes directly at their expense, I wouldn't care at all if they smacked you. This whole "anything a comedian says is ok because they're a comedian" thing is nonsense. Its just the reverse "I paid for my ticket so I'll yell whatever I want". Be a decent human and you'll be fine.

this just makes you a bad person. There are a ton of appropriate responses to a joke going bad...booing, leaving, demanding a refund, hell even heckling. Condoning violence over jokes is a serious personal character defect, that you really might want to self reflect on.

[mister d]

Targeting someone for ridicule in hopes of getting a laugh just because they happen to be different from you is a serious personal character defect, that you really might want to self reflect on.

[TT2.0]

Targeting someone for ridicule in hopes of getting a laugh just because they happen to be different from you is a serious personal character defect, that you really might want to self reflect on.

First off, i never hope to get laughs, I just get them. Second, I've always been careful about where I aim my jokes, none of the things youve ever came for me for have been jokes i've written or performed, just that i've defended other comics rights to try. I don't even know why im bothering to talk to you, you've literally been a douchebag since 2003 when I got here, but just so you know if you ever get the urge to try to slap a comic, not all of us are gonna chris rock and turn the other cheek. Also go fuck yourself.

[L-Jam3]

[mister d]

I don't even know why im bothering to talk to you, you've literally been a douchebag since 2003 when I got here, but just so you know if you ever get the urge to try to slap a comic, not all of us are gonna chris rock and turn the other cheek. Also go fuck yourself.

We should probably clarify a few things here:
1. I'm not going to slap anyone because I don't hit people and I'm pretty sure I'd get hit back a lot harder.
2. It was a slap, he didn't get shot and the slippery slope argument here is just about as valid as any place else. There was never any actual danger.
3. If you and I were somehow in the same comedy club and someone handed me $20 to get up on stage, thus making me a paid comedian and not an amateur douchebag since 2003, and I started targeting your girlfriend or wife's appearance, you slapping me during or after would be my fault and problem. I would have instigated it. Just being paid to tell jokes doesn't indemnify someone from repercussions of being cruel under the guise of humor.

I've always been careful about where I aim my jokes

There you go. And I'd bet Chris Rock will say something over the next week about he mis-aimed his. He's already implicitly accepted his role by trying to let it go away.

[TT2.0]

I don't even know why im bothering to talk to you, you've literally been a douchebag since 2003 when I got here, but just so you know if you ever get the urge to try to slap a comic, not all of us are gonna chris rock and turn the other cheek. Also go fuck yourself.

We should probably clarify a few things here:
1. I'm not going to slap anyone because I don't hit people and I'm pretty sure I'd get hit back a lot harder.
2. It was a slap, he didn't get shot and the slippery slope argument here is just about as valid as any place else. There was never any actual danger.
3. If you and I were somehow in the same comedy club and someone handed me $20 to get up on stage, thus making me a paid comedian and not an amateur douchebag since 2003, and I started targeting your girlfriend or wife's appearance, you slapping me during or after would be my fault and problem. I would have instigated it. Just being paid to tell jokes doesn't indemnify someone from repercussions of being cruel under the guise of humor.

I've always been careful about where I aim my jokes

There you go. And I'd bet Chris Rock will say something over the next week about he mis-aimed his. He's already implicitly accepted his role by trying to let it go away.

So why dont you hit people? Because its wrong or because your afraid to get hurt? Because if you know its wrong, then your whole arguement makes no sense. If its just because your afraid, then you condoning it from other men is kinda you living vicariously through them? Also your premise is wrong...if i make fun of your wife and you hit me, it would still be your fault and your problem. You control your body and actions, and words arent enough of a reason to hit. Dont know how many ways i have to say this. Also, someone getting slapped is dangerous as fuck. If someone comes on stage and slaps me, i'll tell you for free that I have a knife on me and thats immediately where im going. Violence isnt a valid social repercussion to a joke, no matter what your machismo and testosterone tell you. Grow the fuck up.

[The Sybian]

Targeting someone for ridicule in hopes of getting a laugh just because they happen to be different from you is a serious personal character defect, that you really might want to self reflect on.

First off, i never hope to get laughs, I just get them. Second, I've always been careful about where I aim my jokes, none of the things youve ever came for me for have been jokes i've written or performed, just that i've defended other comics rights to try. I don't even know why im bothering to talk to you, you've literally been a douchebag since 2003 when I got here, but just so you know if you ever get the urge to try to slap a comic, not all of us are gonna chris rock and turn the other cheek. Also go fuck yourself.

I never would have expected the champion of never hitting out with jokes would have been the guy nicknamed Mr. Dick, because he always had a rude snarky comment for everything. (for the record, I usually laughed, but you have offended some people here)

I never would have made the joke and don't think it was appropriate, but not every joke hits with everyone. I don't think any topic is off limits if done correctly, but when a comedian makes a joke about a persons disease, rape, the Holocaust... and it misses? They will face repercussions. They might lose sponsorship deals, lose bookings, not get cast in a show..., but it's not OK to punch someone for a joke, especially at a live internationally televised black-tie affair. Handle it like an adult. I don't defend everything a comedian says, but I get that when you are trying to be funny off the cuff, sometimes you say things that are just mean and not funny.

I'm not coming up with the quote, but there was an employment law case stemming from the writers' room at Friends that is perfect for this debate. A female employee sued the network because she was offended by the horrific sexual conversations held in the writers' room. Discussing what they'd do to/with Jennifer Anniston, writing Joey as a serial rapist, graphic descriptions of oral sex that were edited down to make them appropriate for TV. The Court found it necessary for comedic writers to stretch outside the bounds of what is acceptable in order to create jokes that are acceptable. Comedians need to push the boundaries as to how far they can take it until it stops being funny. The joke goes too far, they stop getting laughs or get booed, and they reel it in a little until the crowd does find it funny. Telling shockingly inappropriate jokes or jokes about typically taboo subjects is what makes a guy like Jeselnick so good. It's the shock factor of what he is saying. He doesn't believe most of it, but the shock of the unexpected is the key to his jokes. I'm sure a lot of people don't find him funny, and that's fine. He knows it and seems to thrive on people hating his jokes. I'm sure he has lost jobs because of it, and that's fine, but you can't condone someone punching him.

[mister d]

So why dont you hit people? Because its wrong or because your afraid to get hurt? Because if you know its wrong, then your whole arguement makes no sense. If its just because your afraid, then you condoning it from other men is kinda you living vicariously through them?

I assume its a combination of growing up in a household that didn't hit and with friends that have never been the beat-the-shit-out-of-each-other-for-fun types. I probably would have been better served in my teens and 20s to have been punched in the mouth more than one time.

(I did not press charges because I absolutely earned it and it was far less than mocking the guy's girlfriend's appearance.)

Also your premise is wrong...if i make fun of your wife and you hit me, it would still be your fault and your problem. You control your body and actions, and words arent enough of a reason to hit. Dont know how many ways i have to say this.

That's the line you've drawn. There are plenty of non-physical actions where I couldn't give less of a shit if they draw a physical response. If a parent of a gay teen who killed themselves wants to go after DeSantis in public, I'm 100% Team Parent. That's obviously a far more serious example than Rock/Smith, but so many terrible words and actions take place precisely because the people doing them know they're insulated from ramifications.

Also, someone getting slapped is dangerous as fuck. If someone comes on stage and slaps me, i'll tell you for free that I have a knife on me and thats immediately where im going. Violence isnt a valid social repercussion to a joke, no matter what your machismo and testosterone tell you. Grow the fuck up.

Chris Rock stabbing Will Smith would have been amazing. Maybe ties in with your last sentence.

[mister d]

I never would have expected the champion of never hitting out with jokes would have been the guy nicknamed Mr. Dick, because he always had a rude snarky comment for everything. (for the record, I usually laughed, but you have offended some people here)

I might be taking this stance because, despite being a dick with a snarky comment for everything in real life and on here, I try extremely hard to avoid anything personal. I'd legitimately feel bad if I've missed that line and I sure as hell wouldn't blame the other person if they called me on it.

[Nonlinear FC]

Not to swerve too far OT, but I was watching Segura's "Ball Hog" special last night, because this site had him on my mind.

If you haven't seen it, spoiler alert.....


The title is referencing an entire 5-7 minute section of the show where he pretty much forces the audience to picture their mom getting railed out by their dad. I found it hilarious. He specifically calls out numerous times that he gets a thrill out of making people squirm in their seats.

Just putting it out there on the side of "comedians need to push boundaries to do their actual jobs" side of this discussion. But I also acknowledge, like syb is saying, that there are reasonable repercussions whe a comedian goes too far.

(And that doesn't include assault, for the record.)

[mister d]

And that Segura example is fine because its not one specific person and/or a mom who is uniquely susceptible to the joke.

[Nonlinear FC]

And that Segura example is fine because its not one specific person and/or a mom who is uniquely susceptible to the joke.

Yeah, to be clear, I'm not absolving CR in all of this. If Smith had reacted in almost any other way, Rock is getting a pretty hefty dose of deserved shit for that joke.

[rass]

And that Segura example is fine because its not one specific person and/or a mom who is uniquely susceptible to the joke.

Yeah, to be clear, I'm not absolving CR in all of this. If Smith had reacted in almost any other way, Rock is getting a pretty hefty dose of deserved shit for that joke.

And comedians would still be complaining that it isn't fair.

[Ryan]

And that Segura example is fine because its not one specific person and/or a mom who is uniquely susceptible to the joke.

Yeah, to be clear, I'm not absolving CR in all of this. If Smith had reacted in almost any other way, Rock is getting a pretty hefty dose of deserved shit for that joke.

If WS just kept laughing, CR gets almost zero shit. We're in NHL DOPS territory here unfortunately

[Steve of phpBB]

Slapping people is a decent human response?

No. But isn't it an understandable one in certain situations?

Maybe I'm missing something, but is anyone here saying that Smith slapping Rock was completely okay? Or mostly understandable and not a huge thing to get worried about?

[EnochRoot]

And that Segura example is fine because its not one specific person and/or a mom who is uniquely susceptible to the joke.

Yeah, to be clear, I'm not absolving CR in all of this. If Smith had reacted in almost any other way, Rock is getting a pretty hefty dose of deserved shit for that joke.

If WS just kept laughing, CR gets almost zero shit. We're in NHL DOPS territory here unfortunately

100%. I mean, it was literally in the "I wouldn't fuck her with Bea Arthur's dick" portion of the award show.

[Nonlinear FC]

You guys are going under the pretense that the Smiths don't do anything. My post was explicitly saying that if Will or Jada were truly that upset, and they took that grievance to "the media" (social, MSM, whatever) and laid out why that joke was in such bad taste...

Rock is not walking away from that joke unscathed.

[Ryan]

Oh. Agreed.

(though I'm still interested in an honest assessment of the Smiths-Rock relationship and his knowledge of her condition before calling Rock an asshole at all)

[EnochRoot]

You guys are going under the pretense that the Smiths don't do anything. My post was explicitly saying that if Will or Jada were truly that upset, and they took that grievance to "the media" (social, MSM, whatever) and laid out why that joke was in such bad taste...

Rock is not walking away from that joke unscathed.

Well, it depends what their goal is: to shame Rock to further exalt their self-importance, or to shine light on the disorder to create awareness? If the latter, you will have Rock onboard in short order.

[EnochRoot]

Roy Firestone is still alive?