The Oscar’s Wil Smith and Chris Rock Slapfest

This is not my customary writing of blogs as most my blogs are more on the reality television side. However, after what I saw last night, I had to add my two cents.

Again, people may not agree with me and to be honest, I can care less. What I say is not for people to agree with me or be against me, more like, this is my point of view.

As all actors in Hollywood, celebrate themselves and their accomplishments, the Oscar’s are no different when it comes to these types of celebratory events to recognized the work they have done over the year.

Chris Rock isn’t a stranger to hosting the Oscar’s as he’s done this before and mind you this isn’t something all celebrities like to do or feel honored to do it. You have to be entertaining at all times for a matter of like 3 hours or so. Probably not a fun thing because people expect you to be funny for the whole duration.

Needless to say, we all know Chris Rock’s sense of comedy is raunchy and most times he will make jokes that in today’s time with snowflakes on the watch, will perceive the jokes as racist, especially if someone else makes similar jokes. Back in the day, before everyone got into their feelings about anything they see or read on social media, people didn’t have a problem laughing at themselves. That was because the phrase, “don’t take yourself too seriously” was something people did.

Now here we are, and people are fixated on the Academy Awards “red carpet. Who is wearing the best dresses, what designers are they wearing, who wore it best, the speeches etc. Nothing new when it comes to these award shows.

That is until Chris Rock gets on stage to announce the nomination of the Best Documentary when he made a joke commenting on Jada Pinkett and looking forward to seeing her on GI Jane II.

Anyone watching found this hilarious.

When her husband caught Ms. Jada’s reaction rolling her eyes, Wil Smith had to change course. Instead of having a man-to-man conversation after the show, which could have led to Chris Rock making a public apology, perhaps not being aware of the condition, alopecia, instead it turned into a physical attack.

It’s no secret Jada Pinkett has mentioned on her platform Red Table Talk, a platform she uses to disclose every aspect of her life about the alopecia among other things.

I want to bring up some relevant points on why this was handled horribly and Wil Smith needs to be accountable for his behavior. I’m also planning on doing a podcast with a special guest to discuss this topic in detail.

This morning when I was listening to my favorite, King of all Media, Howard Stern, Nikki Glaser called in to share her thoughts.

As she shared her assessment to what happened, I think Nikki Glaser said it best when she compared it to Harvey Weinstein and the sexual assaults, which took place over years and not one person said a word about it.

Funny thing is, she’s right. Her comparisons on people either witnessing or knowing of a crime being committed, everyone literally sat there, witnessed Wil Smith get up from his seat, walked over to the stage, slap Chris Rock, walked back off the stage and sat back down and in addition, cursing him out on national television. If anyone walked into a room or in this case, turned on the television after it happened, no one would have ever known because no one said anything. This is how Harvey Weinstein was able to get away with what he was doing for years. Everyone just sat back and continued to live their lives, even if things were said in rumors, no one bothered to expose him.

A little background on Harvey Weinstein…he was the cofounder of Miramax, was considered one of the “top dogs” within the Hollywood circuit. He and his brother Bob, had a very successful run in producing independent movies, such as The Crying Game, Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love, etc. He also had great relationships with other Hollywood “elites” such as Madonna, Oprah, just to name a few. Harvey Weinstein was also married to Georgina Chapman, who was a judge on Project Runway All Stars and the co-founder of fashion house, Marchesa.

Since his down fall, Mr. Weinstein has been convicted of 1 count of third-degree rape, 1 count of criminal sexual assault in the first degree and is currently serving 23 years in prison, which chances are, he won’t see life after those bars.

(PS: Picsright go fuck yourself)

Reminds me of the A&E special, “Secrets of Playboy”, how women were allegedly raped by one, Bill Cosby and no one said anything for years either. How that fool got out of jail, I will never understand.

And no one can convince me otherwise of his innocence.

Even Howard stated, there was enough time, from the moment Wil Smith got up from his seat, and walked on the stage, it wasn’t like the stage was close enough where Wil Smith could have climbed right up. As soon as he got up, someone should have stopped him right there and no one did. Hence the comparison Harvey Weinstein scenario comment from Nikki.

Here are a few more points I will go into detail on my podcast.

Not only did he slap Chris Rock, but Wil Smith goes on to win an award and then stands there blaming his behaviors on exterior shit like Satan. To add insult to injury after his speech, he gets a standing ovation, You think any conversation he had with Denzel Washington, would "okay" this type of behavior. I'm sorry, but I think Denzel Washington has a lot more class than Wil and Jada combined.

Would he even think to apologize to the public, watching on television for his behavior?

From what I understand, his son tweeted, “this is how we do it”.

Really? So, if his son gets slapped for saying some crap, is that okay too? Or because it’s Wil Smith’s son it makes it okay…?

I crack up when people are like, “not today Satan”. Let's go ahead and blame a non existent force for our inadequacies in handling ourselves in public. What's the difference between that dude who was screaming about smoothies? Granted he didn't lay not one hand on any of those workers, but he did throw the smoothie. How come we can't blame Satan for that one?

You see where I'm going with this... We have seen too many people blame an invisible, exterior force for their own behaviors, which for me, is the lack of taking responsibility of one self. That man yelling profanities and throwing smoothies around is just as WRONG as Wil Smith.

The final point I want to bring up is when the pandemic happened. We were all sequestered into our homes, only going out for basic needs.

Celebrities who were on television shows and spend most of their days interacting with other cast members, which clearly posed a threat of spreading the virus, were now at risk of not being seen and had to stop work indefinitely.

Of course, celebrities who were not actively involved with television on a daily bases now had to take recourse and step up their game. We witness more of a social media presence, like “here I am doing laundry, or “here I am scrubbing the floor”, and, "here I am at my pool with family and friends, having drinks and soaking in the sun", while others who were living in their apartments were basically stuck.

Although Red Table Talk started in 2019, conversations 'turned the table' when, in June of 2020, Jada admitted to an affair with musician August Alsina.

Not only did she admit this, but went on to say, at some point during her 25 year marriage, she and Wil agreed not to be monogamous. In other words, be swingers.

And you know, just as anyone who just adores these Hollywood “elites”, it was accepting and groundbreaking.

Hmm. Really?

Because, here’s my thing.

Back in 2002, I started a magazine called Kink~E Magazine which focuses on alternative lifestyles, such as BDSM, Fetishes and couples who were swingers and how they incorporated that balance into their relationships was an important focal point, because there was a generation using social media to connect with people, at the same time, there were a lot of fake accounts created just to chastise the very people who were looking to make these relatable connections. As my magazine began to grow, with other writers on board, I expanded topics to include interviewing adult performers, producers of adult films, authors and people who were exploring their sexuality, as in same sex relationships and how they came to peace with their decisions without outside influences chastising who they are and a safe place to share those stories.

In the early days, sharing on social media was never a problem, that is until religious organizations began their bashing, calling on removals of sex work on the internet, blaming Satan for these “abnormalities” and blaming the adult community for trafficking, meanwhile never looking in their little backyard filled with bullshit Christian values (that topic for another time).

When celebrities like Jada Pinkett Smith shares about swinging and going outside of your relationship with your partner’s permission, that seems to be completely acceptable. But anything outside of that, we are just sick individuals who need help.

So here’s my question, when do we get to a point in our lives where normalizing behavior like sitting back watching someone get assaulted in public not be normal and we actually stand up and stop something that is going on instead of filming it?

Sure, our phones have become handy in documenting evidence, but back in the day, when we didn’t have this technology, if we saw a fire happening, did anyone say, "hold my video camera and make sure it has enough tape to record of me rescuing this family". Who was thinking in this capacity?

Up to when Wil Smith caught his wife rolling her eyes, he was sitting there laughing his ass off.

And while it’s not okay to poke fun at an “abnormality” such as this alopecia, the same can say for someone who has ADHD, or some type of mental challenge or even weight issues, where someone may be struggling in that area and feel shame behind it.

I have heard both sides, “Oh I’ve met Chris Rock and he’s rude, etc.”, but tell me what celebrity isn’t rude 99% of the time? This isn’t anything new. Chris Rock isn’t the only celebrity who may have pushed past people and not want to be bothered in public.

Didn’t Justin Bieber have to explain to his fans who were standing outside his apartment complex on how he likes to come home and be private with his family.

Yes, it’s not easy being a celebrity, I can understand that to some level, not saying I am one but understanding on the other side, how many times I have seen or interacted with celebrities and not be an asshole. The biggest celebrity I had the pleasure of interviewing was 50 Cent and even then, I didn’t spend five hours interviewing him. As a matter of fact, as someone was trying to whisk him away, he mentioned giving me time to interview him. He didn’t have to do that, and I’m grateful he did.

Granted I’m not a fan of the Smith’s, even if not being a fan, ill behavior is still wrong and I’m still going to say something about it, fan or not.

I guess we know now well in advance, Will and Jada won’t be able to handle a roast, so we can rule that out in a future event.

Just a side note here, I’ve been watching this therapist Dr. Grande on Youtube, who did his own analysis on what took place last night. If you want to understand any possible mental challenges on what may have been happening, Dr. Grande is a great resource. He doesn’t diagnose anyone, if anything he offers his analysis of the current situation. You can watch his videos here: Dr Todd Grande

I’ll be recording my podcast tomorrow with my special guest, please look out for that as well.

Until then. Take Care of You.