Will Smith

[cremetangerine82]

Apr 9, 2022 22:27:02 GMT -4 ahah said:

Apr 9, 2022 20:56:31 GMT -4 cremetangerine82 said:

Someone did ask DJ Jazzy Jeff about The Slap^TM and he defended Will to no one’s surprise.

I don’t think it’s fair to ask someone close to a person like this to comment. There’s no way to answer that question. If he blasted Will, that becomes the focus of the story and divides them. If he defends him, everyone rolls their eyes and thinks it’s insincere. Why bother asking?

I agree, he would’ve been criticized either way. I just knew someone was going to ask him about it, everybody and their dog is being asked about this. I edited my original post since it sounded like I was condemning Jeff for his comment. Knowing the press, they probably sprung that question on him without any preparation.

[dragonflie]

I'm sorry- but I also gotta disagree with the concern regarding being dismissive/shaming regarding abusive behavior- in this case specifically. In general I would agree- yes, for sure men can be victims of abuse, and they can feel shame and it can be hard to leave.

In THIS case/context- we are discussing a man who assaulted another man, in front of a large crowd, and essentially got cheered on for it. So- I have ZERO empathy for Smith in that context. If he is being abused (a big if- but who knows)- then that is sad and scary. It is also not any excuse or reason to feel bad for Smith himself in the context of him assaulting another person. in fact, people working to defend Smith, I would argue, are in fact the culprits of dismissive behavior that shames victims of abuse- because in this particular case Smith was/is the abuser.

[Lwaxana]

Apr 9, 2022 23:33:44 GMT -4 dragonflie said:

I'm sorry- but I also gotta disagree with the concern regarding being dismissive/shaming regarding abusive behavior- in this case specifically. In general I would agree- yes, for sure men can be victims of abuse, and they can feel shame and it can be hard to leave.

In THIS case/context- we are discussing a man who assaulted another man, in front of a large crowd, and essentially got cheered on for it. So- I have ZERO empathy for Smith in that context. If he is being abused (a big if- but who knows)- then that is sad and scary. It is also not any excuse or reason to feel bad for Smith himself in the context of him assaulting another person. in fact, people working to defend Smith, I would argue, are in fact the culprits of dismissive behavior that shames victims of abuse- because in this particular case Smith was/is the abuser.

I also agree that Smith was wrong in assaulting Chris Rock and not the victim. In rereading ahah's post, I think I misinterpreted this line:

As for their marriage - if the snippets we see are accurate and Jada is truly that dismissive and manipulative of Will, I don’t buy that he’s a victim of her or deserves any sort of extended sympathy for the situation.

Instead of taking "the situation" to mean The Slap, I took it as a comment about the marriage as a whole.

Apologies for misunderstanding ahah.

[cremetangerine82]

OK, found this bad take from ”veteran actor” Harry Lennix:

One small exception: Veteran actor Harry Lennix (Dollhouse, The Matrix sequels), who penned a guest column for Variety today all but demanding Smith give his Oscar back in order to “redeem the integrity of the Oscars.” “With one deft blow,” Lennix (who’s caught some flack online, both for writing this piece, and for his responses to questions about collaborator Joss Whedon in an earlier interview) writes, “Will Smith created an existential crisis for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. The incident was such a jolt to societal norms that it will gnaw away at our national conscience until somehow properly atoned for.”

My fears that this all-black production team will be the last and the image of the AMPAS is way more important than The Slap^TM affecting an actual person (Chris Rock) is sadly confirmed by this consensus (I’m taking into account that this may not be a representative sample of all members of AMPAS). I do agree with Lennix that Will Smith’s acceptance speech about being “a vessel” for God was really gross after he committed physical assault less than an hour before he won!

[lpatrice]

Will Smith doesn’t need to and should not return his award; while what Will did was awful - it’s not on par with some of the shit other Oscar winners have done and they are in no hurry to return their awards.

I hope Will gets help and gets out of his toxic ducking relationship. It’s clear that him and Jada have a horribly toxic and dysfunctional relationship.

[laurenj]

I saw a mention of Jada addressing the situation on her Red Table Talk, who wants to take one for the team and watch/summarize? I don't think I'd be able to sit through it, but if anyone watched, I'd be curious what she's saying now.

[Ginger]

Apparently there were title cards at the beginning of her new episode: "Considering all that has happened in the last few weeks, the Smith family has been focused on deep healing...Some of the discoveries around our healing will be shared at the table when the time calls. Until then the table will continue offering itself to powerful, inspiring and healing testimonies like that of our incredibly impressive first guest."

The episodes she's airing now were filmed before the Oscars.

[cremetangerine82]

“Deep healing” has to be code for something.

Like “hospitalized for exhaustion” is celebrity PR speak for rehab.

Or maybe it’s Smith-ese for “not facing real consequences”.

[cubanitafresca]

Apr 22, 2022 22:16:16 GMT -4 cremetangerine82 said:

Deep healing” has to be code for something.

My decoder ring says its code for, "Damn we messed up, and we didn't see this shitstorm coming"

[forever1267]

Will Smith speaks out about "The Slap Heard 'Round the World"