| Author |
Message |
Sincebb1
Member
08-22-2005
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 6:05 pm 
Jimmer read his book that was just released 4 or 5 months ago. You'll get to know him and the relationship between him and Jada a little better.
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Cinnamongirl
Member
01-10-2001
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 6:07 pm
I agree Jimmer. I was blown away with the people applauding and standing up for him. It made me sick actually.
Im glad he was pushed to apologize... If I had lost my cool like that it would have devastated my whole evening, but not Will. He was out partying it up..
Im still pissed he ruined the night for other people..
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Jimmer
Board Administrator
08-29-2000
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 6:15 pm
I agree. The whole thing hasn’t showed anyone at their best.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 6:17 pm
I think we are way too hard on people trying to do the right thing.
As I noted, Chris Rock and Will Smith got over it.
The "but" wasn't meant as an excuse, people give that one three letter word way too much power! It's pyschobabble nonsense to say that one but in two paragraphs negates the whole thing. It was an explanation, not an excuse. The tone of the entire thing was apologetic.
And we have far far far more than one bad moment in Will Smith's life to judge him by. Just sayin'.
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Jimmer
Board Administrator
08-29-2000
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 6:31 pm
It’s a tough one. The ultimate bad moment in that it took place in front of millions of viewers. Like I said, I don’t know Will Smith. I know myself and while I’ve thankfully never hit anyone in anger, I have had my own bad moments.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 6:48 pm
Connected to the Oscars I had my first ever request for a post to be removed on Instagram today and it was honored.
A picture was posted of four people at the awards and mentioning a fifth person who was involved/won but was home in I think the UK. And the four were all Jewish. I am blanking beyond Marlee Matlin and Amy Schumer..
Anyway I liked the post and looked at the few comments. There was one comment that was marked as hidden so I clicked on that and was shocked to read "Hitler was right". I checked that poster and there were only a few posts, one was about how women basically should be like they were 150 years ago and the other was offensive in some way.
I reported the Hitler post and got a message that they would look into it and then got a message saying it had been removed.
I'm not big on censorship as a rule and mostly I just go block people who offend me but this one.. nope.
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Kookliebird
Member
08-04-2005
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 7:10 pm
I think Kareem Abdul Jabbar nails it in this opinion piece. https://kareem.substack.com/p/will-smith-did-a-bad-bad-thing?s=r&utm_medium=email
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 7:19 pm
I think most people agree it was wrong. He seems to think so now also.
I once read that one of his deepest regrets in life was not protecting his mother when she was being attacked by his (stepdad or dad - can't remember).
It's something he has carried his life and that haunts him. I think those of us that have suffered trauma as children sometimes surprise ourselves by acting out in odd ways because of a memory that we have not yet healed. The thing is, do we learn from it, do we own it?
I think he owned it. I found his apology sincere.
Because I can truly say... there BUT for the grace of God... go I. (emphasis intended). 
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 7:34 pm
By the way, I'm still waiting for Chris Rock's apology for his disgusting joke.....
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Sincebb1
Member
08-22-2005
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 7:37 pm
Sorry, I don't buy it. We will just have to agree to disagree on this one.
I don't judge a whole group of people by the actions of one. I just think the one person is to blame for their actions. So for me it's not so deep as to say it sets back any specific gender or race or category of people. I do, however, understand that that is a concern since many are prone to so.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 7:48 pm
Agree to disagree about what?
The facts are he apologized. It's also a fact that this whole angst about the use of the word "but" has been exaggerated. We all use the word but in every day conversations. It doesn't mean everything we said before or after that is meaningless! I challenge you to get through a single day without using it.
The majority of his apology was taking ownership of his bad behavior. And like I said, as a survivor of trauma, and someone who treated it in others for years, I know a few things about it. Do apologies have to be PERFECT now before they are acceptable? Are we that perfect? I somehow doubt it.
It's so easy to sit back and judge. It's much harder to show grace. I'll choose the latter, every time.
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Zeyna
Member
07-15-2001
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 7:49 pm
If it was a woman comedian Will slapped over the same "joke", nobody would be justifying his action. In my mind, there is absolutely no excuse for his behaviour.
The entitlement bothers me too, everyone should be aware of Jada's alopecia?! I bet most people had no idea, I sure didn't.
Everyone at the awards clapping and supporting him after the assault, and then his big win...just gross.
I wouldn't be surprised he negotiated with the academy to apologize properly in order to keep his Oscar.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 7:53 pm
Sorry, life's too short.
There are bigger problems in the world than this.
But (there's that word again) look at how much people are talking about this instead of real issues.
Sometimes I despair. The lack of grace, the focus on inconsequential things, the harsh judgments....
The world sucks sometimes. And not because of Will Smith.
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 8:01 pm
Chris Rock does not owe anyone an apology. The joke wasn't funny, that's all.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 8:07 pm
So it's okay to make fun of disabilities? Good to know.
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Sincebb1
Member
08-22-2005
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 8:09 pm
What i meant, is there's room for both of our opinions, I believe.
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 8:34 pm
}Why are you so very sure he was making fun of her? What makes you so certain he was aware she has alopecia? There are articles that he had no idea. Will thought it was funny and laughed. The joke fell flat because it wasn't funny.
Alopecia isn't considered a medical disability either. It is likely, irritating, upsetting and annoying to many who experience it but not a medical disability.
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Chieko
Member
11-20-2003
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 8:47 pm
I'm finding it hard to understand how alopecia can be considered a disability anymore than Male Pattern Baldness. Acne can be harder to deal with and less able to conceal. And can someone explain how being compared to GI Jane is an unforgivable insult? Is there something else going on here?
PS Slapping someone can also cause a dislocated jaw and a black eye, and injury to your hearing. I know.
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Chieko
Member
11-20-2003
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 8:52 pm
I agree with every word from Kareem. He nailed it.
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Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 8:54 pm
Karuuna the joke was about a GI JANE reboot and that Jada already had the "look" for it and wouldn't have to shave her head like Demi Moore did. It wasn't about Alopecia, it has just been turned into that because Jada revealed she has it.
At least that is my understanding of the joke.
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Cinnamongirl
Member
01-10-2001
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 9:09 pm
Chris Rock apologized earlier today as well.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, March 28, 2022 - 10:33 pm
For anyone with alopecia, it would sure feel like it was about that.
I looked at the footage and Jada was never laughing. The woman sitting between Will and Jada was grinning, but Jada looked hurt.
And I am a bit suspicious that this joke was not included in rehearsal, so it was a surprise to everyone.
I did a lot of fast forwarding of news today because of all the coverage of this one incident and updates. Thankfully there WAS an exciting rescue of a woman and then of her dog (and some random guy who jumped in to get the frantic dog and was hauled out and off to the hospital with dog bites. The woman was in the hospital and it took 4 firefighters to finally capture the dog, including a great job with a lasso. Then it took some animal control people to help with getting the dog hauled up 20 feet.
So for that time there was no coverage of The Incident.
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Strategist
Member
07-01-2014
| Tuesday, March 29, 2022 - 3:44 am
Jada Pinkett Smith has talked about her alopecia. It's not a disability, but it is extremely upsetting for the person who has it. For women in particular, it often causes deep distress. Jada called her hair loss terrifying.
Chris Rock may not have known that she had alopecia. If he did, he should not have joked about it. However, the joke was a softball and it landed. A lot of people laughed, including Will Smith.
Many, many comedians have joked about the looks of people in the audience in the past. The targeted people just look at the camera and laugh it off. Not saying it's right, but making fun of people is a staple for many comedians especially at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes.
Will Smith has slapped people before. This is not a one-time thing. It was just more widely watched. He needs to learn how to control himself.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Tuesday, March 29, 2022 - 8:27 am
*FYI* Chris Rock's management team confirmed he hasn't commented on the incident and any apology supposedly from him on social media is false.
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Cinnamongirl
Member
01-10-2001
| Tuesday, March 29, 2022 - 8:44 am
I was starting to wonder about that Mame cuz it hasnt been mentioned anywhere on any news type shows..
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