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Will Smith just threw a $50m punch

Will Smith Breaks His Silence About Chris Rock in a Lengthy Instagram Statement
“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.

I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.

I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my 'King Richard' Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.

I am a work in progress.

Sincerely,

Will"
 
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar released an insightful statement about this which I will not post here, but it is worth looking up. He touches on many of the thoughts I've had about this issue and a few I have been unwilling/unable to express because I do not have the lived experience to support them.

I've been done with this subject for a day or so, but his statement is truly worth checking out. And now I am checking out... of this conversation :)
 
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar released an insightful statement about this which I will not post here, but it is worth looking up. He touches on many of the thoughts I've had about this issue and a few I have been unwilling/unable to express because I do not have the lived experience to support them.

I've been done with this subject for a day or so, but his statement is truly worth checking out. And now I am checking out... of this conversation :)
Thanks for the heads-up. I did check it out. Abdul-Jabbar's insight provides an interesting and thoughtful perspective, and I would expect no less from him.
 
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar released an insightful statement about this which I will not post here, but it is worth looking up. He touches on many of the thoughts I've had about this issue and a few I have been unwilling/unable to express because I do not have the lived experience to support them.

I've been done with this subject for a day or so, but his statement is truly worth checking out. And now I am checking out... of this conversation :)
Hi LBS!

Thank you for the recommendation, very insightful, pondered opinion.


Here is the link, if someone wants to read it:
Will Smith Did a Bad, Bad Thing
 
"OK, Will, here's how it'll go. Chris will make his joke about Jada's hair, you storm up there and slap him - make sure to pull it, you don't want to risk hurting him, I know you know how to pull a slap - and cuss a little. Then later that night you apologize.

You've been saying you don't feel like today's audiences are paying attention to you. Just this one little thing will put you right back in the headlines. Trust me, baby, did I ever steer you wrong before? Piece of cake. Chris'll be ready for it, he won't be wearing his contacts tomorrow night."

And it's working exactly as planned. Only thing was he forgot for a second not to laugh at the joke. That momentary hesitation? that was Smith saying - "oh s**t, I forgot the setup!"

I'm astonished that no one sees the fix.
 
"OK, Will, here's how it'll go. Chris will make his joke about Jada's hair, you storm up there and slap him - make sure to pull it, you don't want to risk hurting him, I know you know how to pull a slap - and cuss a little. Then later that night you apologize.

You've been saying you don't feel like today's audiences are paying attention to you. Just this one little thing will put you right back in the headlines. Trust me, baby, did I ever steer you wrong before? Piece of cake. Chris'll be ready for it, he won't be wearing his contacts tomorrow night."

And it's working exactly as planned. Only thing was he forgot for a second not to laugh at the joke. That momentary hesitation? that was Smith saying - "oh s**t, I forgot the setup!"

I'm astonished that no one sees the fix.
Nah. Chris isn't that good an actor. :) Funny guy though, usually.
 
"OK, Will, here's how it'll go. Chris will make his joke about Jada's hair, you storm up there and slap him - make sure to pull it, you don't want to risk hurting him, I know you know how to pull a slap - and cuss a little. Then later that night you apologize.

You've been saying you don't feel like today's audiences are paying attention to you. Just this one little thing will put you right back in the headlines. Trust me, baby, did I ever steer you wrong before? Piece of cake. Chris'll be ready for it, he won't be wearing his contacts tomorrow night."

And it's working exactly as planned. Only thing was he forgot for a second not to laugh at the joke. That momentary hesitation? that was Smith saying - "oh s**t, I forgot the setup!"

I'm astonished that no one sees the fix.
I'm astonished you think Will Smith would participate in something that makes him look so bad. He continues to be highly successful after 30 years as an actor--just check this summary from Wiki.

After starring in his debut film Where the Day Takes You (1992), Smith quickly became one of Hollywood's most successful and bankable stars.[143] He currently holds the record for the most consecutive $100 million plus hits at the U.S. box office, with eight.[144] Smith starred as Daryl in the movie Bright (2017), which broke the record at the time for the most-viewed Netflix film ever for its first week,[145] and became the first major Hollywood film to skip theatrical release over streaming platform for simultaneous viewing by more than 100 million people worldwide.[146] For his role as Agent J in Men in Black 3 (2012), Smith earned the highest-paid movie role of all time, when he reportedly earned $100 million for his role in the film; furthermore his roles in the movies King Richard and Bright are also among the highest-paid roles of all time.[147][148] His upcoming movie Emancipation (2022) sold to Apple Studios for $120 million in June 2020, which made it the largest film festival acquisition deal in film history.[149] In 2022, Smith became the fifth black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor.[150]
 
I'm astonished you think Will Smith would participate in something that makes him look so bad. He continues to be highly successful after 30 years as an actor--just check this summary from Wiki.

After starring in his debut film Where the Day Takes You (1992), Smith quickly became one of Hollywood's most successful and bankable stars.[143] He currently holds the record for the most consecutive $100 million plus hits at the U.S. box office, with eight.[144] Smith starred as Daryl in the movie Bright (2017), which broke the record at the time for the most-viewed Netflix film ever for its first week,[145] and became the first major Hollywood film to skip theatrical release over streaming platform for simultaneous viewing by more than 100 million people worldwide.[146] For his role as Agent J in Men in Black 3 (2012), Smith earned the highest-paid movie role of all time, when he reportedly earned $100 million for his role in the film; furthermore his roles in the movies King Richard and Bright are also among the highest-paid roles of all time.[147][148] His upcoming movie Emancipation (2022) sold to Apple Studios for $120 million in June 2020, which made it the largest film festival acquisition deal in film history.[149] In 2022, Smith became the fifth black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor.[150]
Exactly.

Even if Smith felt that "today's audiences aren't paying attention" to him, he couldn't possibly consider himself so close to irrelevance that he would be desperate enough to pull an ugly stunt like that.
 
I'm astonished you think Will Smith would participate in something that makes him look so bad. He continues to be highly successful after 30 years as an actor--just check this summary from Wiki.

After starring in his debut film Where the Day Takes You (1992), Smith quickly became one of Hollywood's most successful and bankable stars.[143] He currently holds the record for the most consecutive $100 million plus hits at the U.S. box office, with eight.[144] Smith starred as Daryl in the movie Bright (2017), which broke the record at the time for the most-viewed Netflix film ever for its first week,[145] and became the first major Hollywood film to skip theatrical release over streaming platform for simultaneous viewing by more than 100 million people worldwide.[146] For his role as Agent J in Men in Black 3 (2012), Smith earned the highest-paid movie role of all time, when he reportedly earned $100 million for his role in the film; furthermore his roles in the movies King Richard and Bright are also among the highest-paid roles of all time.[147][148] His upcoming movie Emancipation (2022) sold to Apple Studios for $120 million in June 2020, which made it the largest film festival acquisition deal in film history.[149] In 2022, Smith became the fifth black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor.[150]

The motive makes no sense, which is typical for bizarre conspiracy theories. Nobody came off looking good. Rock looks like an insensitive jerk. Smith looks like an out of control hothead. The Hollywood elite look like hypocrites for giving him a standing ovation during his award, then stumbling over themselves to condemn his display.
 
Well, I'm cynical when it comes to celebrities. I don't think they go to the bathroom in the morning without clearing it with the PR machine first. All those feuds, weird behaviors, etc., etc. - all scripted in my opinion. Buncha irrelevant dopes desperately trying to get attention away from each other to keep bringing in the bux. Y'all's innocence is touching.
 
Well, I'm cynical when it comes to celebrities. I don't think they go to the bathroom in the morning without clearing it with the PR machine first. All those feuds, weird behaviors, etc., etc. - all scripted in my opinion. Buncha irrelevant dopes desperately trying to get attention away from each other to keep bringing in the bux. Y'all's innocence is touching.
You don't have to be innocent to believe that not everything celebrity-related is a publicity stunt. And since when are Will Smith and Chris Rock "irrelevant"?
 
Well, I'm cynical when it comes to celebrities. I don't think they go to the bathroom in the morning without clearing it with the PR machine first. All those feuds, weird behaviors, etc., etc. - all scripted in my opinion. Buncha irrelevant dopes desperately trying to get attention away from each other to keep bringing in the bux. Y'all's innocence is touching.

Celebrities do the same dumb stuff everybody else does. The difference is, when us common folk do dumb crap nobody is taking our picture and reporting it in a tabloid.
 
You don't have to be innocent to believe that not everything celebrity-related is a publicity stunt. And since when are Will Smith and Chris Rock "irrelevant"?

Since Tik Tok, full-immersion video games, You Tuba, etc.?

They're 53 and 57 years old. Both can see the point clearly in view when their celebrity-ness will become a late-night trivia question or "remember him?" Gotta keep the views up.
 
Since Tik Tok, full-immersion video games, You Tuba, etc.?

They're 53 and 57 years old. Both can see the point clearly in view when their celebrity-ness will become a late-night trivia question or "remember him?" Gotta keep the views up.
Well, then I guess it's just a matter of time before we see people like Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks do something like this...right? After all, they are celebrities, and according to your logic, all celebrities are desperate for "views."
 
Since Tik Tok, full-immersion video games, You Tuba, etc.?

They're 53 and 57 years old. Both can see the point clearly in view when their celebrity-ness will become a late-night trivia question or "remember him?" Gotta keep the views up.
Uh huh ... but again, they're both currently huge stars. Smith was even up for an Oscar ... and won. Your theory, and remember, it is a theory, with no hard evidence to support it, makes no sense in terms of motivation.

I happened to see the event in real time, and I did wonder for a moment if it was a "bit" they were doing, as it was so odd. But their reactions didn't fit that. And, again, Chris Rock is a talented guy, but he's NOT that good an actor. Your theory has no evidence, no reasonable motivation, and doesn't fit what I saw onscreen. Sorry, no.