My post on Monday was on the impact of the incident to the Oscarcast and purposely not a discussion of the merits of the slap.
But today, let me weigh in like everyone else. (And thanks for all the comments yesterday.)
I agree with those who said Will Smith should have been removed from the building.
Violence should not be condoned. And just because you’re a celebrity doesn’t give you license to not play by society’s rules. Same goes for sexual assault or throwing a full can of Coca Cola at a producer’s head because you didn’t like a joke (Yes, Bret Butler, I’m talking about you).
In watching the clip again (and again and again), Smith laughed originally and then saw that his wife was pissed. But his initial response was telling.
I love how some people are outraged at this violence but seem to be okay with the January 6 insurrection.
Some are saying they should take away Smith’s award. I don’t think that’s necessary. It’s already tainted. And might as well let him have it since he will never win another thing ever. Just throw him out of the Academy if they want to be punitive. He’s probably destroyed his career, so that's sort of a punishment.
The Academy came out with a statement that they “condemn” his action. Oooh, they’re really sticking their necks out. They will “formally review” the incident. So the bullshit continues. They maintain there was talk of removing Smith but that the decision makers were all in different parts of the audience and couldn’t mobilize in time. What a crock of shit that is. You don’t need a committee. You need the president of the Academy saying “Have security escort him out of the building. Now!”
SAG/ AFTRA also condemned him. If SAG/AFTRA wants to right any wrongs they should fix their own health insurance plan that screws over its members. Work on that awhile.
Enough people now hate Smith that he’s Hollywood’s next Mel Gibson.
I agree that Chris Rock’s joke was a cheap shot.
If you’re a celebrity — especially now with social media where everyone with a Twitter account can become an Oscar host — you better develop a thick skin.
The reality is the only real laughs award show hosts get these days is from cheap shots. It’s encouraged. That Ricky Gervais hosted the Golden Globes more than once, that’s all you need to know.
(What if Will Smith hit Ricky Gervais? Would the reaction be different???)
So where do you draw the line? When half the audience is offended by anything and the other half is angry and offended by nothing?
Of all the truly despicable people in the world — people who want to destroy the world, destroy Democracy, all for their own personal gain and quest for power — you’re going to hit a comedian?
Now comedians are worried this is going to become a thing. No, I don’t think comedy club audiences are going to start beating up on the stand-ups. Unless you’re Will Smith you go to jail and it costs you a lot of money you can't afford. As a general note — you can’t just start smacking people.
Ratings were up marginally. 15 million instead of 10 — the second lowest rated Oscarcast ever. Compare that to 1998 when TITANIC won. 55.3 million viewers.
To me, an even sadder moment was seeing Liza Minelli and the horrible shape she’s in. Truly heartbreaking. Kudos to Lady Gaga for handling the situation with class and compassion.
Let's see... anything else? I can't think of... oh wait. Yes. Congratulations to the winners.
The Liza Minnelli moment was sadly cringe worthy. Had it not been for Will Smith's immaturity that might have received more play afterwards. You would think that before somebody reached out to her people and invited her they would have done some vetting first. Once she knows the cat's out of the bag. She definitely was not fully in the moment. She's got viral encephalitis, which comes and goes but eventually the effects are harder to overcome as you get older and can make one appear exactly like she did Oscar night. Lady Gaga did a really good job handling the situation.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteChris Rock is now the most in-demand comedian in North America with a whole new trove of material.
He should send Will Smith a Christmas card.
I think Chris Rock should have been slapped just for referencing G.I. Jane in a joke.
ReplyDeleteBut Mel Gibson was invited back and also given a nomination.
ReplyDeleteI think Will will be back.
This is Hollywood people.
Firstly, I watched the entire show (like I believe you did)-
ReplyDeleteunlike many commentators who are making judgments based only on edited clips they've seen.
Much has been said about Will Smith laughing before attacking, so therefore what's the problem?
However in his speech:
"Now I know, to do what we do, you've got to be able to take abuse. You got to be able to have people talk crazy about you.
In this business, you've got to be able to have people disrespecting you, and you've got to smile and you've got to pretend like that's OK."
My interpretation upon hearing that (rightly or wrongly) was that he was outwardly OK with Chris Rock's comment. And if his wife was not there - the show would have continued.
But when he, like us, saw his wife's very angry reaction, he reacted - not because he was upset with Rock's comments, but because Rock had upset his wife.
That to me justifies his abrupt change of mood.
And secondly -
yes there is definitely something else -
Regina Hall pawing and feeling up male actors in the "Covid joke".
If a male had done that to female actresses, there would have been a riot in the country.
I am not blaming Regina Hall - I suspect (hope) she was following a script
(At least Will Smith had the decency to decline her offer to check him out)
But because of Will Smith's reaction to Chris Rock, that entry seems to be quietly buried by the former story.
And The Academy, who would have approved the script, instead of being chastised for encouraging sexual harassment and double standards, are now only accused of harboring one actor's violent act.
Jada is getting abused on Twitter for her affairs, open marriage.
ReplyDeleteWill is being mocked as a cuckold.
God .... it is a Nasty online world out there.
To anyone defending Will Smith's reaction to Chris Rock's inappropriately, slightly wincing remark about Jada Pinkett Smith's condition, consider this.
ReplyDeleteWill Smith was laughing (more than I would have) at Rock's remark - "Jada, I love you - G.I.Jane - can't wait to see it" as the camera showed Jada rolling her eyes in mild disgust.
Less than a minute later, Will Smith strides onstage, wallops Rock once, struts back to his seat, where he launches a forceful, obscenity-laced, veiled threat to Rock, who maintained his composure throughout.
The fact that Will Smith was shown laughing at the quip, then suddenly changing his attitude without any warning had me wondering if Jada might have shot her husband a look that said, "you find that funny, honey? No sugar in the shack for you tonight!"
Defending his family? Please. I don't buy it for a second, no more than the crocodile tears during his acceptance speech and an apology to the academy but NOT to Rock?? A carefully worded one (possibly crafted by Smith's publicists) to Rock was posted a day later.
I had little to no interest in Will Smith as an actor prior to this. Now, I have little to no interest in him as a human being.
But I do say this:
Bi-polar? Probably.
He needs intense psychiatric counseling - I do hope he gets it soon.
Dana Gould said a few years ago he made a mild Trump joke on stage and someone threw a bottle at him. Come on, the beer can't be THAT bad!
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to booing? It's a classic form of communication, and for good reason.
I agree with everything you said except the impact this will have on Smith's career. This will blow over in a few months and Smith's career will be right back where it was. Mel Gibson's unpardonable sin was being politically incorrect. Antisemitic, racist etc. Will Smith's act did not cross racial lines so it won't have the same legs.
ReplyDeleteI am sad to see at Oscars2022 where Francis Ford Coppola and Pacino and Robert, looked old.
ReplyDeleteWhy are they are looking old. My stepdad is the same age as Pacino.
But looks 30 years younger.
Why is Robert and Pacino, looking into so old.
Is it the drinking or drugs or lack of?
And who is this Evans, Coppola was bragging about. Who is he? Never heard of him?
Thanks,
He's destroyed his career? Stars are different from you and me, Ken. Big money makers are different from...well, me. They're coddled and protected and given get out of jail cards as long as they sell tickets. He's not going anywhere. He's earned a lot of grief but he won't get the full measure he deserves.
ReplyDeleteThis has been spun every way from Saturday night at the Redneck Bar where a man has to stand up for his woman to Black rappers are thin-skinned and inherently violent, with all the gradations in between.
Now let me put on my defense lawyer hat. Not every crime is a hanging offense. He didn't knock Chris out; he didn't punch him with a closed fist. He slapped him hard--once. Once his handlers got a hold of him he put out an apology. Yes, it's from his lawyers and PR people and issued, not in person, but from behind the wall of a press release, but it is something. Don't take back the Oscar. I'm not a fan of cancel culture. But drop him from the Academy, at a minimum. Actions have consequences and Will Smith has earned them.
And where was producer Will Packer during all of this? Why didn't he have the courage to shut it down and remove the star from the building? Oh yeah--there it is. Star.
Grown men slapping each other? What is this? The Regency era?
ReplyDeleteThe ratings complaints always seem like bad faith detractors trying to bring down the Oscars for no reason. Like, of course ratings have been down, but so has all of television watching. It's because folks (like me) literally don't own TVs or have cable anymore. Also I felt like I missed nothing (since I got to watch that slap clip a hundred thousand times since Sunday night)
ReplyDeleteTBH, I don't think that will cost him his career - if a studio thinks they can make money with Will Smith in a movie, he'll be in it.
ReplyDeleteBut, I don't think that came from nowhere. It felt like it was symptomatic of some other issues that maybe we haven't see before. (although we have seen him hit someone before). If that's the case, then those issues, unless they're faced, might yet come to cost him his career.
Jada Pinkett posted a video a few days before the Oscars in which she said she doesn't give two craps what people think about her bald head. Well, she should make up her mind, because she obviously did give a crap about Chris Rock's joke and ordered Will Smith to go up and hit him.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Liza Minnelli, this is the second frail and declining artist whom Lady Gaga has appeared with, the first one being Tony Bennett with Alzheimer's. On both occasions, most of the coverage was about how generous and kind Gaga was with them. And it's true, she was.
Bennett at least could still get out there and perform. But the moment with Liza Minnelli has left a bad taste in the mouth. The Academy and Gaga had to have known her condition but they still brought her out. Why? Why wilfully embarrass an icon like that?
Again, everyone is talking about how nice it was of Gaga to say "I got you" to Minnelli when she was confused. Really? Loud enough for everyone to hear?
I would like to give Lady Gaga the benefit of the doubt but this is becoming something of an uncomfortable pattern with her where she goes on stage with a very frail legend and then gets tons of publicity about how nice she was to them. Surely the genuinely kind thing would have been not to bring Minnelli out and let her retain dignity in her private life.
If my cynicism is well placed, Gaga's people are probably calling the managers of Kris Kristofferson and Paul Simon to find out if they're unwell.
#DefundWillSmith
ReplyDeleteThe Academy should ban him from next year's ceremony which would mean that he loses the honor of announcing the Best Actress winner... but it won't because ABC wants him there.
ReplyDeleteSince the Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" incident is still often a topic after 20 years, my guess is that we will be hearing about this for a long time.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I'm thinking the common thought was that a possible wardrobe malfunction would be the story of the night, but that's a story in itself.
1998 was the year Titanic won.
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch, so I didn't know about Liza, but I'm so sorry to hear.
Will should have talked to Chris during the next commercial break. I don't care if he was motivated by Jada's reaction to defend her honor, nor if this was a multi-year feud that bubbled over at that moment. No sane person walks to the stage to slap the presenter. Repeating what I said yesterday, it was too surreal to be real. To Jeff, I, too, hope he gets counseling. If nothing else, it's someone to confide in at least once a week. I'll say this, though: I enjoyed the video game memes that came out of the incident. My favorite was the one invoking Street Fighter II.
Andy, I'm glad you said "cuckold" and not the shortened pejorative, which I loathe. Yes, the online world is nasty and Twitter is the worst. Quoting a friend of mine, "Twitter is a sewer where people go to be insulted." That's why I took my latest hiatus from the platform five weeks ago. Besides, I was only there to promote my blog and to follow accounts that announce when a video game is on sale or when online retailers are going to restock PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. A Discord server I'm in has a chat channel dedicated to deals and sales, which means I don't need Twitter for those. Plus, I read that Twitter only represents a small fraction of the country. That doesn't discount Ken's "who isn't" question during his social media plug at the end of podcast episodes because many in, or followers of, media and politics are on Twitter and/or other social media.
Houston Mitchell of The Los Angeles Times does a wonderful newsletter on the Dodgers, and his comment was classic: "I couldn’t believe it when I heard about Dodgers catcher Will Smith storming the stage at the Oscars and slapping ... Wait, I’m being told it was a different Will Smith. Never mind."
ReplyDeleteP.S. I've never found Tiffany Haddish funny but didn't object to her as a person. But after she called the punch the most beautiful thing she's ever seen, on the basis that it showed Smith defending his wife, she's revealed herself to be a complete idiot.
ReplyDeleteHad Jada Pinkett marched to the stage and slapped Chris Rock, would we be hailing her as a fierce take-no-bullshit woman? Or demanding she be arrested? What bothered me was Will Smith deciding he had to defend "his" wife. As Rashad said, what is this, the Regency era?
ReplyDeleteTitanic was 1997.
ReplyDeleteBut it won in calendar year 1998.
ReplyDeleteI think he was referring to that you put 1988 in the post.
DeleteI don't think it's going to ruin Smith's career or anything. Lots of people see this as rather gallant, actually. Rock made his wife cry and he lost his temper. My girlfriend's reaction: "That's hot. Would you hit someone if they told a mean joke about me?"
ReplyDeleteSure, it was an overreaction, and probably not really about Chris Rock or that joke (it was probably about a ton of pressure that the Smith family has been under for a long time). Smith certainly was wrong and owes Rock an apology.
(Chris was trying to go easy on them. He probably threw away ten open marriage jokes before he settled on a relatively tame "hey, she has a bald head like the famously beautiful Demi Moore once did".)
But this is the kind of thing you can understand and forgive when someone apologizes. Will Smith isn't exactly Harvey Wienstien or Mel Gibson here, where a person reveals an ugly part of themselves that make you not want to have anything to do with anything about them. Everyone can understand what it would feel like hearing someone say something that hurts a loved one and wanting to slap the grin right off their face.
Interesting that the adapted screenplay award (for "CODA") hasn't been more controversial, since "CODA" is based on the 2014 French film La Famille Bélier, and apparently doesn't stray *that* far from the source material.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that Liza Minnelli's health had so dramatically deteriorated until Sunday night. Remembering what a charming couple she and Dudley Moore made in "Arthur" compounds the sadness when contemplating the tragic conditions they were destined to endure in real life.
ReplyDeleteAnd I couldn't agree more about Lady Gaga.
All the bullying and hardship Gaga suffered early in life has apparently shaped her into the genuinely caring, selfless, humble, lovely person she is today.
When she accompanied Tony Bennett at his final concert at Radio City in New York, I couldn't think of a more compassionate performing partner with whom Bennett could leave the stage--literally and figuratively.
Tom and Ken, you reminded me of the confusion that occurs with the NFL playoffs. They're for one year's season, but take place in the next calendar year. Some people, players or announcers, will incorrectly say their team were the champions for the year in which the Super Bowl was played rather than the year of (most of) the season.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding of Man Challenges is that first you slap, then you duel.
ReplyDeleteIf you’ve never written a duel scene, here’s your chance. A Marty Feldman-type is my first choice as a second.
"Who is this Evans?"
ReplyDeleteI believe it's the late Bob Evans. He was Paramount's top executive during the making of The Godfather.
I don't think this incident destroyed Will Smith's career. I think it destroyed Chris Rock's career.
ReplyDeleteRock is a brilliant comedian with a lot to say about culture and relationships. No one will be interested in hearing any of that anymore. (Or able to hear it outside of the lens of what just happened.) No media outlets will ever cover his projects again without mentioning this incident.
What's more, Smith managed to take Rock's ill-conceived joke, aimed at one of the most powerful women in Hollywood (who happens to have a distressing but entirely non-health-threatening medical condition), and made it sound like Rock had been attacking sick kids at Children's Hospital. (Successfully, to judge by all the anti-Rock comments and social-media posts -- those Sc****ology public-relation lessons really do pay off.) Smith actually did this again, justifying his behavior as a legitimate response to a bad person, in the middle of his "apology"!
Smith will come out of this as an Academy Award-winning actor, with his own production company, who will get plenty of work in the future. Rock, on the other hand, will forever be remembered as a man who was called "the Devil" by an Oscar-winner during his acceptance speech. Who would you rather be?
I was tired of the Smiths before this happened. Daily headlines about their marriage and its "quirks," shall we say. I avoid them the same I avoid all the articles about the British royals, but the headlines are always in my face. I wonder if Will Smith is medicated or on other drugs? Is he in the midst of some sort of mental illness? Laughing at the bad attempt at a joke and then popping off and slapping Rock in such a hifalutin public setting and shrieking and cursing like a drunk after sitting down and then the crazy crying tirade of a speech that was like listening to televangelist trying to get his willfully ignorant audience to get out their wallets again after he was caught in some illicit act--it was just too much. I will never be able to see Will Smith on a screen and not think about it. Like Cosby or Tom Cruise or Mel Gibson or Louie CK, et al., I can't not think about their behavior.
ReplyDeleteMike Chimineri
ReplyDeleteYou actually 'loathe' a shortened word? Really?
The GF had the show on DVR so.....
ReplyDeleteThat was a pretty good shot - Kudos to Rock for manning up so well. I don't lip read - but Smith's follow up from his seat was pretty clear.
I remain serenely distant from social-media amplification - I find the reaction here to be far more interesting than the incident.
More memorable to me was how stunning the Williams Sisters were. After twenty-plus years of sweaty tennis dresses - it wasn't until Serena spoke that my jaw dropped.
FWIW - the GF is an ex-steel-worker - she contrasted the slap with actual brawls - even thought it "was staged" (not me).
I'm not a fan, but believe that enough fans, in fly-over (and my own fly-by) states will continue as fans, that Smith will remain bankable.
ReplyDeleteStephen Colbert had the best suggestion for what Will Smith and his wife should have done -- something that would have hit Chris Rock harder than any slap. They should have just not laughed. When the camera cut to them after Rock's joke, they should have been stone-faced. No comedian wants to bomb and certainly not on a program that's beamed around the world.
ReplyDeleteMel Books, I don't like the word "cuck," the longer "cuckservative," or any other pejoratives, right or left. (There I go bothsidesing again.)
ReplyDeleteJahn, the follow-up was audible on international broadcasts, which were posted on social media and YouTube. He twice yelled "keep my wife's name (pause) out yo' f---in' mouth!" The second time was louder, slower, and preceded by "yes" in response to Chris's incredulous reaction. Chris's line after the second yell, "greatest night in the history of television," made me think of what Al Michaels said seconds after the Loma Prieta earthquake (preceded by uncertainty as to whether he could be heard): "Well, folks, that's the greatest open in the history of television, bar none!" Tim McCarver came back with "opened with a bang" and Al nervously giggled "yes, it certainly did!"
I didn’t watch the Oscars, but I have enjoyed the many memes launched by “ the slap heard round the world”. My favorite take so far has been that Chris Rock was merely suffering the consequences of the Macbeth curse, since shortly before his bald joke he had called out to Denzel Washington that he had loved him in Macbeth, which as all theater nerds know you aren’t supposed to refer to by name in a theater. In fact (and I checked this a few minutes ago), the Wikipedia entry for “The Scottish Play” (not the entry for Macbeth itself) has been updated to include “the slap” as the latest example of the curse in action.
ReplyDeleteI was too relieved that the US men's soccer team all but clinched World Cup qualification earlier that day, I essentially forgot about the Oscars. I didn't know about the incident until I checked my phone before going to bed.
ReplyDeleteAnd to be honest, I really don't care about the incident. US soccer social media is already toxic (some still want to fire the coach, even though anything less than a 6-0 loss tomorrow will guarantee the World Cup), I don't see the need to wade into the likely similarly toxic discussion of the incident. Other things to worry about, like Ukraine, the Supreme Court nomination, and the National League adopting the DH.
BTW, I'm so happy Jessica Chastain FINALLY won an Oscar; and when I saw Ariana DeBose for the first time in "Schmigadoon", I knew she was something special.
I don't think Chris Rock's joke was a cheap shot. He just commented on her baldness. How was he to know that she had some disease? The media says she has talked openly about it on her podcast....who actually listens to that? Is he supposed to know every medical condition of everyone in Hollywood? He's a comedian, his job is to make fun of people.
ReplyDeleteFriday question:
ReplyDelete"SAG/ AFTRA also condemned him. If SAG/AFTRA wants to right any wrongs they should fix their own health insurance plan that screws over its members. Work on that awhile."
Now you have me curious, what's wrong with the SAG/AFTRA health plan? Is the WGA health plan any better?
Something I haven't seen addressed much: Is alopecia really that serious a disease? Other than hair loss, is it debilitating in any way? I think Jade Smith looks very beautiful, and she clearly has made her baldness something to show off with dignity. Point being, I don't see how what Rock said was a form of "bullying" or "violence" or "insulting her honor" as many online are portraying it. And being compared to Demi Moore isn't exactly an insult either. No wonder Rock was so incredulous.
ReplyDeleteTaking back the Stale Prince's Oscar would be a disingenuous move by the Academy unless they also take back Harvey Wienstein's and Roman Polansky's. Let it remain tainted. Cancelling doesn't accomplish anything. Let Slappy's initial reaction to the G.I. Jane joke be what people remember. Talk about bi-polar ... or whipped. Shame on the Academy for not dealing with it immediately. And shame on whoever thought it was okay to trot out Liza Minnelli, bless her. That was just cruel.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the show, only video clips of the slap, so I don't know what happened with Liza Minelli. But none of us knows what discussions were held before her appearance. I would assume she, or her helpers, had a choice. I recall when Mohammed Ali appeared to open the Olympics one year suffering from ?Parkinsons? ?Alzheimers? there was a lot of discussion that he shouldn't have been shown in public, given his condition. But why not? Why should we hide away everyone whose physical condition makes some people uncomfortable?
ReplyDeletewg
Darwin's Ghost: I can't speak to any previous association Lady Gaga had with Liza Minelli, but she's been performing and recording albums with Tony Bennett for years now. I believe their relationship goes back before Bennett showed any noticeable cognitive impairment. I'd say it was very reasonable for all of professional, personal, and commercial reasons (i.e. she was a draw that might expand the show's audience) for her to help him with a planned final performance. And it's likely her experience with him helped her handle this similar situation with grace. I'd need a fair amount more evidence before I started casting ghoulish aspirations towards her.
ReplyDeleteTelly Savalas has a medical condition for his hair loss, but 6,498 comedians still made jokes. I guess comedians are gonna joke....
ReplyDeleteThis wouldn't be a 'thing' if there were more award shows....
.
I’m sure the LA County DA’s Office thinks it dodged a bullet by Rock refusing to press charges and the LAPD making no arrest. Can you imagine the media circus that would accompany that trial? I’m sure most people think it would be a cut and dried issue, but Smith would have the very best lawyers and in reality there is an actual defense. In law there is a concept known as “fighting words”:
ReplyDelete“Fighting words are words meant to incite violence such that they may not be protected free speech under the First Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court first defined them in Chaplinsky v New Hampshire (1942) as words which "by their very utterance, inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace.”
There seem to be a lot of people who think that what Rock said could be considered “fighting words” and it would be up to the DA to convince the jury that a reasonable person would not consider what Rock said were “fighting words”. I’m guessing you’d end up with a hung jury. The trial would be expensive for the DA and the city. A guilty verdict would be appealed. The DA would want to negotiate a disorderly conduct plea bargain with a small fine and maybe some community service, but there is no guarantee he would accept.
In life, people get in altercations that could be considered criminal all the time. Bar fights, shoving matches, drinks thrown in peoples faces, etc. What Smith did was shocking because of the venue. But it’s in everyone’s interest to keep it out of the courts.
If they were deemed fighting words then Rock could be found guilty of a violation of penal code section 415, beach of peace. That would not, however, be a defense to assault or battery for Smith. Fighting words don't make it legal to throw the first punch. Having a reason to be angry is not the same as self-defense. (I was a prosecuting attorney for 39 years).
DeleteI'd have loved to hear the absolute take-down Chris Rock was ready to unleash on Will after the slap. After Will does his shouting, there's a pause and then Chris says, "I could, oh..." Those were the wheels turning. I'm sure it would've been spectacular but Chris showed restraint.
ReplyDeleteI know I said I wasn't going to watch the Oscars but I turned it on just to see the "In Memoriam" segment. Instead I thought I had tuned into a WWE match for a minute. Methinks if it had been Samuel L. Jackson, Terry Crews or Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson up there Will wouldn't have been so quick to walk up on stage and slap them. As far as the In Memoriam segment, I shouldn't have bothered. Half the names I couldn't see because they just HAD to have the singers/dancers/circus clowns front and center. I'm in Ohio, they might as well have been holding up cue cards in Nebraska with the names written on them.
ReplyDeleteWendy, the Muhammad Ali moment was during the opening ceremony for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta (the Centennial Olympics; the one with the bombing). He developed Parkinson's from his years in the ring, so he had a major tremor at the time. (He also had limited speaking ability left.) There's a tradition leading up to each winter and summer games called the Olympic Torch Relay, which concludes during the opening ceremony. In '96, swimmer Janet Evans (the Katie Ledecky of her day) ran into the Olympic Stadium (later Turner Field) and passed the torch to Ali. Despite the tremor, he was able to carry the torch all the way to the cauldron that is kept lit until the closing ceremony. I forget if it was before, after, or both, but he raised his arms triumphantly, torch in hand. It was a poignant moment.
ReplyDeleteWatching Liza and Lady Gaga, all I kept thinking about was Groucho Marx being paraded around by Erin Fleming during his declining years.
ReplyDelete@Captain Schmideo: I bet you're looking forward to the film version of Steve Stoliar's memoir Raised Eyebrows - My Years Inside Groucho's House.
ReplyDeleteWill Smith has been a upbeat Hollywood presence up until now, with a lot of good will built up over the years. Mel Gibson has had a history of problematic remarks and behavior (drunkenness, anti-Semitic remarks). Gibson still has a career in the movies and Hollywood. I agree with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's commentary on the slapping situation, but also that Will Smith most certainly will continue as a highly sought after movie star.
ReplyDelete@ Mel Brooks:
ReplyDeleteLots of people hate certain words; for some, it’s an almost physical reaction of distaste when they hear it. I don’t know what your mom was like, but hearing the “C” word would briefly turn my ordinarily good-natured mother into a hellspawn. Letting that one slip in front of her as a kid was a guaranteed first class ticket to bedroom banishment.
For me, it’s hearing people (male or female) call each other “bitches”. It makes me cringe. I was in the Army and had a long career as a cop, so I’ve heard, used, and been called just about every conceivable curse there is, but hearing a bunch of woo girls screaming “bitches” at each other will still make me grit my teeth. What can ya say….people are weird.
Words like “cuck” are annoying because they’re invariably being used by the same twitter-dwelling moron who says things like “soyboy” or “beta male”. They’re the linguistic equivalent of a genetic marker; their presence in someone’s vocabulary instantly identifies them as the kind of person who’ll derail any reasonable conversation with nonsense.
I don’t think Will Smith’s career will be hurt greatly. Most his fans, which he has a lot of, think he did the right thing.
ReplyDelete"Telly Savalas has a medical condition for his hair loss". Yeah, that's why he's bald.
ReplyDeleteTelly Savalas is also quite dead. Most definitely deceased.
ReplyDeleteCould people please stop saying Rock "went after" Jada or made fun of her alopecia? He did nothing of the kind. It was a throwaway joke like you will hear comics make every day. "Wow, you're tall, do you play in the WNBA?" If you see a friend who shaved her head because she's undergoing chemo and someone says "You could be in GI Jane" would you think she was being insulted? Or might you think they were saying she could be in a movie that starred one of the most beautiful actresses we've seen? Black women have been shaving their heads for some time now as a fashion statement. When I see a bald Black woman I usually think "that's a good look for her." What I don't think is "She must have alopecia."
ReplyDeleteWell said, Aaron and Chris O., and great quips, Lemuel and Max. Thank you, all of you. If I could, I'd give your comments "likes" and reply with a hand clap emoji.
ReplyDeleteAaron Sheckley,
ReplyDeleteI totally get it regarding hating certain words, and yes most women dislike the "c" word for sure. I'm sure my mother would have also, although I never tested that. What I didn't understand was the commenter saying he loathed a word. Isn't "loathe" a word you reserve for Hitler, perhaps you're ex-wife, or the series finale of St. Eleswhere claiming the whole six seasons were just a dream in some kids head?
I don't know, anyway thanks for commenting Aaron
I'm going to go on record as saying I never heard of the word "cuckservative" before now and had to look it up to what what was so loathsome about a shortened version of it. I've been around the block a few times as well and been called all manner of names in my line of work and thought I paid a attention to politics. All I can say is I'm glad I'm not that married to my computer and I'm glad I didn't know.
ReplyDeleteI love Steven Colbert's comment last night. There are many people (including me) who have said that this whole thing was a setup because of Rock's smile on his face when being "hit" or Smith's lack of using his fist instead on his lady fingers. Colbert said it wasn't a set up because "Will Smith isn't that good of an actor".
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ReplyDeleteFrances McDormand didn't present Best Actor this year or in 2018, although oddly she co-presented Best Actress with Sam Rockwell, who was the reigning Best Supporting Actor. To balance it out Best Actor was co-presented by Gary Oldman (who would have normally presented Best Actress) as well as Allison Janney, the reigning Best Supporting Actress. She did present Jack Nicholson with his third Oscar in 1997 after winning for Fargo the year before. McDormand's absence this year led to the cast of Pulp Fiction presenting Best Actor.
My long-winded point is that exceptions have been made to traditions and I bet Will Smith won't be presenting any Oscars any time soon. In any event, the most prestigious presentation is for Best Picture, which is why Liza was called upon to do so.
Liza has been in front of an audience or cameras for 76 years, so I doubt she didn't know what was going on. She may be frail but seemed to enjoy being there. The rhythms and cadence of her usual theatric persona were intact, so I don't get the concern.
ReplyDeleteCould Will Smith's ego BE any bigger and his talents less remarkable? Still, he is not going away and will not suffer repercussions.
I really thought this was finally going to be the year for "La La Land."
ReplyDeleteGoldie Hawn -- who made at least one TV special with Minnelli in the '70s -- is in better shape than Liza today, but in 2014 she and Kim Novak both appeared at the Academy Awards and were savaged in social media: https://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/676525.html
ReplyDeleteI am still waiting to see if Sean Penn is going to shove his Oscars.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that they should take away his Oscar and don't think they will. He absolutely should not be allowed to come back next year and present the Best Actor award. I also think based on that standing ovation he received that this won't affect his career. So really, thus far there don't seem to be any consequences for this outrageous behaviour that we all witnessed.
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of strange who is considered a great star. I was just looking at Smith's IMBD page. At best he has made 4 or 5 good movies. He had 4 or 5 movies in pre or post production so he isn't going anywhere. I guess if you are bankable despite making bad movies you are always going to get cast. Have to wonder where he would be if it wasn't for Fresh Prince.
ReplyDeleteThere should be as much outrage for what is going on in Ukraine as there is for this stupid slap.
ReplyDeleteDJ Jazzy Jeff was always the cooler half of that duo anyway.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Hollywood Reporter:
ReplyDeleteChris Rock Stand-Up Ticket Sales Soar As Comic Remains Mum on Oscars Slap
StubHub said it experienced more than 25 times the daily sales each of the past two days than occurred last month for the comedian's current tour.
No excuse for Smith’s bizarre collision of behaviors. His point could have been made quietly on or off stage which might have resulted in Rock’s respectable acknowledgement of the situation and a nod to the Smith’s. Nope.
ReplyDeleteBut really - when did the point of being a comedian host at the Oscars become about personally insulting everyone? That’s pretty recent isn’t it, within the last 10-15 years maybe? I thought Amy Poehler’s dig a while back about Emma Stone’s eyes being like the film “Big Eyes” was similarly personal and cheap, though Stone’s reaction was actually adult.
When did funny hosting become all about personal shots? I remember Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, even David Letterman juggling this in a slightly more adult era.
Sorry about the SAG/AFTRA
ReplyDeletehealth insurance plan that screws over its members.
I read somewhere that John Wayne almost went up on stage and punched someone once but six or seven men held him back.
Some things are now perceived as bad when they always were. Some things are the opposite I guess.
I used the DVR. I didn't have the patience to watch it again. Nothing political. It's just boring. And my brother came in and he said wow! The one time we don't watch it and something happens? I would rather watch the Emmys. I'm not a big fan of movies. I saw a couple of winners from CODA. Sadly I won't be subscribing to another streaming service just to see it. I don't know why. It's cheaper than going to a movie which is another thing I won't do again. I have trouble watching screens in the dark. I would rather watch something at home with the lights on and the captions on too. I hate missing anything. And people on TV shows today, sometimes they mumble. I know that is more recent. I can lie and listen to old TV shows and get every word, So it isn't me.
But I did start turning on the captions for ER because there was a lot of medical jargon and it was going really fast.
Stream of consciousness from here.
I honestly appreciated more what Will said. Maybe he should have stuck with that.
But there are 7 hours missing from the president's phone logs? Has Rosemary the Secretary come back from the dead? Earlier in the evening I knew her last name...
By the way, my favorite blogs of yours were the one about your colonoscopy prep and the one where you got to be a disc jockey on WLS. My brother read that one out loud to me as if he were a disc jockey. He would have been a good one. I probably would have as well. But like my friend',s college therapist said when she wanted to go into show business, she didn't have the kind of personality to give herself that kind of push. And neither do I. Not that great at self promotion. Oh I got a job at John Hancock. And the Disc Jockey School That told me that Emerson would be out of business in a year, disappeared from the earth, while Emerson carried on. My aforementioned friend went there. Perhaps we would have met a decade earlier...
I think the whole thing was staged.
ReplyDeleteJada gave Will the "The other man I'm sleeping with wouldn't let him say that about me" look.
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ReplyDeleteRe "Who is this Evans" I agree with CarolMR that it's Robert Evans. See hear for what he did https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Evans
Mel, I said "loathe" because I didn't want to say "hate" or "extremely dislike."
ReplyDeleteApparently, they did ask Will Smith to leave the Oscars and he refused. I probably would have taken an extended commercial break and have him dragged out of the place.....if I had been running the telecast. And then when they announced his name as the winner, I would have had said "Will Smith is unable to accept his award. Accepting the award on his behalf is an actual asshole."
ReplyDeleteHere's that Ali moment, Mike, narrated in 1996 by what is obviously Bob Costas, and what I think is Al Michaels?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uklmvMYaMk0
Wasn't 1996 the year that Costas bent both ABC and NBC over and told them he was interviewing Jim McKay during the opening, whether either network liked it or not?
(Costas, and the Olympic that year, were NBC; McKay had a lifetime contract with ABC; these were the years when that sort of network-crossing simply did not happen.)