Academy Awards 2022

[PhaseDance]

So ... um ... anything interesting happen?

[Mr. Holland]

Nah....the whole thing is just a slap in the face....

[Gilly Goodness]

Between a Rock and a hard slap 😗

[soundchaser09]

hmmmm Will Smith will probably regret that

[Gtkgasman]

Can’t stomach it. I sequester myself in a different room on Oscar day whilst my wife watches all the lead up and the show. 😉 If I listen to most who speak my head will explode. 😆

[Gtkgasman]

hmmmm Will Smith will probably regret that

Just saw the news. Haha. Good for Will. I think I just became a fan. Mess with another mans wife, you get what you deserve.

[pianozach]

I watched the whole thing, and didn't doze off.

Deaf guy won Best Supporting Actor, Tone-Deaf Guy won Best Slaptor.

Openly lesbian actor won for Best Supporting Actress, for playing Anita in West Side Story.

Best Song surprised me: Billie Eilish and Finneas won for their James Bond song, beating out Lin-Manuel Miranda's song for Encanto. The rest of the field were heavy hitters as well: Beyonce for her song for King Richard (the tennis film), Diane Warren, and Van Morrison (yes, he's still alive).

Hans Zimmer won Best Score for Dune, and didn't bother to show up. I think he was "busy", but it may have also had something to do with the category being shuffled off to the kid's table. The score is brilliant.

💥

As for the "Slap Heard 'Round The World", I saw the US version as it happened (on a broadcast delay), and I couldn't help think that it was staged, as part of it was blacked out, and even more of it was muted. They also gave Will all the time he wanted during his acceptance speech. Since then I've seen the unedited feed, and it's pretty obvious that it was a moment of rage on Smith's part. Chris Rock's joke may have been in poor taste, but that doesn't justify the violent response. Ironically speaking, they've NEVER told a joke that was in poor taste at the Oscars before 🐴 .

I kid. Of course there's been insensitive comedy before - it's expected even. The funny part is that Will Smith was laughing at the joke, but wife Jada was not amused, immediately rolling her eyes. Next thing you know Will's gone all Kanye and slap/slugs Rock, who handled it quite well. Then Will shouts down rock like a thug.

Anyone miss the whole thing? Here it is. Warning: The clip shows Will punch-slapping Chris, then Will drops the F-Bomb twice.

But here's the context: Jada Smith doesn't have her hair cut in a butch because she really WANTS that cut - she has allopecia, a condition in which one's hair tends to fall out. I'll assume she's not happy about it, and husband Will is probably a bit sensitive about it. Will is one of the nominees for Best Actor in King Richard, as Venus and Serena Williams' father Richard, an overbearing crazy protective loving father that raised two professional tennis stars in Compton.

Content Warning: F-Bombs and an act of violence.

The sh ittiest part was Smith's faux-apology during his acceptance speech for Best Actor, in which he spent the majority of making excuses and justifications, then apologies to every BUT who he hit, while claiming to be all about "spreading love". He even alluded to the old "the devil made me do it" trope.

All I heard was a toxic male spouse shouting, "You made me hit you!" This misogynistic moment also smacked of paternalism, where the girl needs "protecting" because they're the "weaker sex".

Here's his acceptance speech, tears and all. Are they crocodile tears? I don't know.

😩

Playing the victim card? Maybe.

Will there be any damage to Will's career? I doubt it. It's not as if he's got a rap sheet of shocking behavior, like Kanye West - this was a unique moment, an anomaly. Besides, no husband will fault him for protecting his wife.

"Honey, would you hit someone if they made fun of me?"
"You KNOW I would, Sugar."

[luna65]

Thing is, though, Will laughed at the joke. Then he saw Jada wasn't laughing. So I don't think it really had anything to do with defending her honor but it will be perceived that way.

[alex peters]

Will Smith is a hero. Defending his wife's honor. I don't think he will regret it at all.

[Gtkgasman]

The Prob with the kanye incident with Swift is no one in the audience had the damn balls to knock him out. Had I been her father in the audience he’d have left on a stretcher.

[Ceasar’s Palace]

I would have expected Smith as being good with words to walk up to Rock and say something like “I take offense at that.”.
Or maybe even “You take that back!”

[Frumious B]

You don’t respond to words with violence.

[luna65]

And man, Denzel was right there. He cut up on worldwide television in front of THE MAN. Will really should have paused and asked himself, "Would D do what I'm about to do?" And the answer is: no. Denzel would have told him to handle it, but not in front of the world.

[PhaseDance]

I'm just going to leave this right here ...

[Gilly Goodness]

You don’t respond to words with violence.

True. A lot of young men around the world watched that violence is justified in defending the honour of your wife. It looked performative. It lacked class. The joke was lame but a man should have the composure to wait to have a few words outside. Smith should've taken it outside.

Glad it was a slap and not a punch. What we call down here "a coward's punch" when the other person is not expecting it. Wow. Can't wait for the next time Smith is on The Graham Norton show. Man's got some explainin'to do.