Can we talk about Chris Rock?

Funnily enough I don't have an opinion about this In Europe it was a welcome distraction but the media circus around seems almost incongruous :-)

I respect all your views, but sometimes we have to go with the simplest explanation: actors don't make as much money as they'd like (perhaps they just got too greedy over the years) so they are always on the lookout for gigs beyond their films and TV shows. This slapping scene may have been one such gig, for publicity purposes (no such things as bad publicity, right?)…

@Jim Murray @Zacharias 🐝 Voulgaris @Renée  🐝 Cormier @Cyndi wilkins, Thank you all for your comments and thoughts!!  Each of you actually proved my point.  Each of us watched carefully crafted clips.  Each of us came to an opinion of what happened and possibly why.  But the actual facts are, that none of us actually know what truly happened.  Toxic masculinity, defense of honor, overreaction, staged event, etc.  But we each stand on our opinions.  But to be more accurate many of our responses are derived from our personal history and upbringing.  I am curious as to what we were not shown.  But as Zacharias said that could simply be a conspiracy.  Except that I never implied motive or agenda simply the fact that we are given carefully crafted clips.  Thank you again for all your amazing and accurate responses.  

Interestingly, Mr. Rock has always been a bit sharp around the edges, as you can clearly see from this childhood photo of him :-)

So, here it goes. Why did Will Smith slap this Chris Rock character instead of give him a punch, like a man?

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He was being strategic about it, since he knew that paper beats rock at all times :-)

It's really hard to decipher what really happened on that stage. Perhaps there is more than meets the eye, but instead of going all conspiracy theorist on the matter, I'd rather do what Ken would do if he were to comment on this topic: make fun of the whole matter, perhaps with a witty joke…

The ‘slap’ heard ‘round the world….Then the follow-up profanity from his seat. Completely undignified, classless, and concerning. I’ve heard worse jokes delivered in completely poor taste at these award shows, and no one has ever been physically and verbally assaulted in front of a worldwide audience.

 Maybe at an after-party perhaps, but not for the whole world to see. ‘Unhinged’ comes to mind…and Jada PS can speak for herself. #toxicmasculinity at its worst.

 I'll bet Patrick Jackson felt like slapping someone silly during his wife's confirmation hearings…But instead gave her a big hug and kiss on the top of her head… Even reached his hand out to her on occasion just to let her know ‘I got you.'

‘Real men’ reassure and comfort their loved ones during times of distress…The abusive beat people up, and then apologize later…What makes Smith any better than the average Joe who would have been dragged away by security?   Money! 

Two sides to every action, Greg You fail to mention that Chris Rock had made reference to a physical condition that caused his wife to lose her hair, which for an actress I have to believe is a big deal. So while Chris Rock may have been attempting to make a joke about it, Will Smith, in that moment I believe, felt inclined to defend his wife's honour. Maybe he caught a glimpse of how deeply that ‘joke’ cut her. In any case, I think he was completely justified in his actions. He's been forced to apologize for this because of the cancel culture that has been created out there. And I get that too. But the fact is, you can sometimes cut to deep and you have to pay the price. IMHO, of course. We have seen the opposite in the way Donald Trump went after Ted Cruz's wife during the election campaign, and how Cruz got branded for being a wimp and it stuck for quite a while. Nobody's gonna say that about Will Smith. And nobody's gonna make jokes about Jada Pinkett, maybe ever again.