This obsession over not suggesting regime change borders on the insane...

@beckyromero I am saddened to hear that. Slapping someone in the face during an entertainment show as the performer is doing his job is hardly appropriate... even if you don't like what the performer is saying.

If you, Will Smith, and his wife are THAT sensitive, maybe you shouldn't attend (or watch) Awards shows or parade around in public. I suppose you think Putin should slap Biden for turning his "special military mission" into a punch line. Perhaps the fat slob who once pretended to be president should slap Hillary (instead of suing her) for calling him a puppet. And, while we're at it, maybe Chris Rock should have slugged Will Smith for interrupting him.

@MarkPaul

Is nothing "off limits?"

What if it was a child being made fun of? Or a disabled person?

I don't think a person's "job" is to make fun of someone with an illness in front of a television audience.

@beckyromero When it comes to words, nothing is off-limits. Censorship and violence has no place in a modern society. Not everyone liked Joan Rivers or Don Rickles for their comedy. Their entire careers were built around going "off-limits." For that matter not everyone likes Chris Rock's comedic genius because he sometimes goes "off-limits." But resorting to a childish tantrum ending with slapping a performer during a live show isn't the way to register dissatisfaction. Will Smith could have grabbed his wife by the... hand and walked out. He could have done what his wife did and rolled his eyes. As an adult, he had other choices to register his dissatisfaction. He made the wrong choice by behaving like a child.

It is misguided to think slapping someone is an appropriate form of behaviour or retribution under any circumstances, but most especially in a civilization that prides itself on "free speech." Maybe the joke wasn't funny; maybe it was mean-spirited; maybe Chris shouldn't have said it. But being violent against a performer whether male or female should never be tolerated, excused, or applauded. And, it sure as hell is not chivalrous or protective. Chris Rock didn't threaten his wife, he didn't molest her, and he sure as hell didn't invade her space. He told a GI Jane joke at an event where celebrities are known to be made fun of. She isn't a child (although she and her husband act like one) , she isn't disabled, and she's not someone who randomly walked into the venue. If she doesn't like being a celebrity, she should find a new profession and give up the benefits.

I think the bigger issue is it's not any person's "job" and certainly not Will Smiths, no matter how much he cries (literally) that he's a victim to slap someone who says words he doesn't like. And, let's not forget, before he decided to use violence, he laughed (check the video) at the GI Jane joke. Stop promoting violence because you think it's really, really cool that he did it for his wife. That's sick.

@MarkPaul
And decency doesn't?

Guess you didn't pay much attention to the 2016 GOP primary debates.

Sure, Smith could perhaps have handled it better. But you and I both know had he walked up on stage and told the Academy to shove the award due to Rock's comments he would probably be just as criticized.


She didn't trade in being a human being.


All of those things. And perhaps an apology by BOTH Rock and Smith is really what is needed.

I believe too much is focused on what Smith did and NOT what on what Rock did (and apparently that wasn't the first time he told that so-called "joke.")

@beckyromero That is the first time he told the joke. It's what we call in the business, a throw-away joke. Personally, I think it was funny, it wasn't mean-spirited, and he had every right to say it. It's not the first time he has made fun of her self-absorbed attitude. NEWSFLASH: That's what comedians do.

Human beings who are adults don't send someone up on stage to slap someone else for his/her words. On that night, both Smith's stopped acting like human adults and behaved like animals who should be caged.

I suppose you would have stood up and cheered if at the GOP primary debates everyone started slapping everyone. Perhaps you think that represents society at its best. I think it is a display of it at its worst. George Bush was brave for dodging the shoe thrown at him. He wouldn't have been brave if he engaged in the violence back. Chris Rock was decent for taking the punch (slap) and not punching back but guiding the show forward. He deserves a hero's ovation... and I'm happy to report he received 3 of those already.

A PR manufactured apology from Will Smith and some babbling nuance from his bald wife will never be enough. I hope the Academy and the movie-paying public throws the book at Will Smith. In addition to not knowing how to speak in a full sentence he's a genuine self-absorbed douchebag who has collateral damage on his hands for instilling in his kids the idea that uncontrolled anger is a suitable response. And, all his tears about being a victim and being a work in progress and wanting to protect the people around him because he thinks that is what he is supposed to do classifies him as just one more run-of-the-mill lunatic with no self-control.

The Smtih's and you need to stop being so hyper-sensitive and start choosing to be a little bit more human... and humane. Words don't kill. People with uncontrolled aggression do.

"F" the NRA and Will Smith (and his wife).

@MarkPaul
Now you know better than to say that.

Some would say that the many kids who kill themslves because of the bullying they've received at school are they themselves to blame.

Saying "words don't kill" would seem to absolve anyone who urges violence and discrimination against others because of their race, religion, sexual orientation or ethnicity.

I refuse to believe you like the type of politics Donald Trump has brought to the scene. OK, maybe he isn't the first. But he certainly has taken it to a whole new level, talking about immigrants from "shithole countries," making fun of disabled reporters, his disparaging jokes about women.

Was what happened in Charlottesville in 2017 just a mere gathering pf perople shouting with "words that don't kill"? Was that was what happened on January 6th, 2021 at the Capitol?

We need a little better civil discourse in this country. That's everyone, on the left, center and right. And that includes comics, too. They can practice their craft just as well by showing some decency.

Yeah, sure. I can hear some people yelling, "Free speech." But is a little self-restraint too much to ask for?

@beckyromero Yes, under the rules of engagement you are suggesting it is over-the-top too much to ask for.

Apparently, you also think Will Smith and his wife acted like children. To equate bullying with a professional comedian at an established event where celebrities are known to get roasted is too much for even me to accept without challenge.

You can't possibly believe that that fat slob who once pretended to be president with his First Lady daughter should have been slapped, punched, roughed up, or killed because of all the insane and terrible things he said and continues to say with his words. And, yes first, last, and for always they will only just be words. And, let's distinguish between venues and positions. Chris Rock is a comedian whose style is to make fun of people and situations and the "children" as you now refer to them, the Smiths were at an entertainment event (by their own choice).

Whether he was pretending or not, that fat slob was in the role of president of the USA and NOT presenting awards at an entertainment show. With all the mock outrage you are trying to muster, even you must see there is a distinction here. But, while we are on the topic, to suggest Heather Hier was killed by words and not some racist POS with a car does a service to the racists and suggests you truly have no fondness for the responsibility and self-discipline democracy demands and requires. Tbh, you should be ashamed of yourself for making this comparison, but in case you're not, I am ashamed for you.

And, after applauding someone who struts on stage to strike a performer who told a joke in the context of a joke on the venue of an entertainment show at an event known for roasting-type comedy and now call for "a little self-restraint" relegates you to maniac status bordering on insane. YOU don't get to dictate what decency is. Will Smith doesn't get to dictate decency. What you and the Smith's do get to do is choose not to attend or tune into roasting type comedy events if you are so easily offended.

Based on his initial reaction to the joke, my best guess is Will Smith would have kept laughing if Chris Rock said what he did to anyone else. And, the fact you can't (or won't) see that makes you as ridiculous and disingenuous as they are.

How dare you!

@beckyromero no, you're not the only one. I would've slapped the shit out of Chris Rock too. Is it legal? No. Is law the same as morals and ethics? Also no.