Will Smith should not be stripped of his Oscar. Oscars are awarded for their work in the motion picture arts and sciences. Open-hand slapping a comedian who made an unfunny joke isn't part of any field of the motion picture arts and sciences. Whether he is invited to attend any future awards ceremonies is up for debate.
As for whether he is charged? It was an open-handed slap. One the one open-hand, it was done on live TV and watched by a number of folks. Also immediately memorialized by present-sense impression of Rock: "Will Smith just slapped the shit outta me!" Not hard to prove that case, so if the municipal DA wanted to get a win, maybe he gets charged. On the other open hand, it was an open hand with no significant injury and a victim who doesn't want to proceed. I'd like to think that most municipal DAs would have more pressing things to do with their time.
I think the general rule is that is is classless to punch down, acceptable to punch across, and desirable to punch up. Chris Rock has previously said there there aren't really any Will Smith jokes – "oh, look at this guy, his terrible movies make him $20 million!" Earlier in the show, Regina Hall cracked a joke about the Smith's open marriage, which everyone laughed about. All in good fun, punching across or up, because their marriage is a choice. Chris Rock cracked a joke about physical appearance of someone who is ill, sensitive about that exact thing and can't do anything about it. That joke hurt, and you could tell that from Jada's stricken expression. Was that joke still punching up?
Until you've had an autoimmune disease, you really have no way of knowing what she is going thru. It sucks to have your body turn against you. The treatments suck and it is different for everyone so what works for one person is useless for another. For a woman to lose her hair, it is traumatic no matter what. Sometimes you laugh because if you don't laugh, you cry. Chris Rock was punching down. That said, I can't say Will handled it very well.
I appreciate that 7:12; however you heard a different joke than I heard. Chris Rock never expressly referenced her hair; in fact he never mentioned the word hair. He compared JPS to a movie character that was physically strong and ripped. There is zero evidence that he knew that her appearance was in any manner related to a disease, intended the joke in a derogatory manner or was making any comment on anything other than her fashion choices. Punching down is punching at someone weaker than you; there is no evidence that JPS is weaker or more fragile as a member of the Hollywood Elite seated in the front row of an event that has been known for comedy for 80 years. Fashion choices have been the butt of jokes for decades; actors roasting each other at the Oscars has been the pattern for decades.
I compare it to this Blog. There have been vicious things written on this Blog over the years (I will say that my name has been used here in a few). But I am not a public figure. However the nature of discourse is that there are topics that are fair game for discussion, and those of us who are members of this community have to expect that. For example when Judge Gonzalez retired, there were knives that came out from people. When it was ultimately disclosed why she retired, some of the people should have/did walk back their comments. Had Chris Rock known that it was not a purely fashion choice, perhaps he chooses a different joke (makes an open marriage joke which JPS laughed at earlier in the show). It is the nature of social commentary.
8:42 I disagree. Just because someone is a member of the hollywood elite doesn't mean it is okay to make fun of their medical issues. Jada's condition has been common knowledge for years. She's also spoke publicly about how insecure she's felt about it. I'd compare it to Chrissy Teigen losing her baby. Someone people love her and some people hate her, but mocking her miscarriage would be terrible…no matter how rich and famous and beautiful and privileged she is.
I too have been the topic of discussion on this blog and the WWLB. I take it as a compliment…love me or hate me, if you're taken the time to post comments about me, I'm clearly living rent free in some heads.
All that aside, what Will Smith did wasn't okay. He could have done a lot without resorting to violence. Compliments to Chris Rock I guess…he seems to be handling it with some class.
Guest
Anonymous
March 28, 2022 7:00 pm
Why in the world did the chemical ingestion case go to trial in the first place? Stupefying.
I've noticed a large uptick in cases going to trial that shouldn't – I have been wondering the same thing. I have just been assuming firms are using potential high profile cases to go to trial, get the news coverage/advertisement value of the verdict, and then settle on the inevitable appeal.
I might be confusing this with another case, but I thought I heard or read that Station's offer was something like $350k. If that's how they looked at this case, then they deserved to get whacked. I hope the Plaintiff beat a Rule 68 offer.
Rick Pyatt is smart enough to have done the CYA on valuation. Whoever was the TPA or in-house claims person (or the excess carrier if they have one) is going to be excreting a brick, as well they should.
Guest
Anonymous
March 28, 2022 7:21 pm
Ravipudi got the huge cosmo payout a couple of years ago, right?
Guest
Anonymous
March 28, 2022 8:02 pm
Turning the Oscars incident into a Nevada hypo –> T-Mobile hosts the 2022 Oscars and the same events transpire, except Chris Rock wants to sue and press charges.
Two questions:
(1) If you are Chris Rock, who do you retain to represent you? And, (2) if you are Will Smith, you do you retain to represent you in the civil case and against the criminal charges?
And then at deposition, ask Mr. Smith "what did the five fingers say to the face?"
Guest
Anonymous
March 28, 2022 9:49 pm
The Will Smith slap was completely staged. Just a clever way to get people talking about the Oscars which is otherwise on its way to becoming irrelevant.
These are the people who exposed the Ponzi Scheme. This is wild. Attorneys getting a kickback of half the admin fee. WTF. Pitching a new investment as the ceiling is falling. #nottheonion
Guest
Anonymous
March 28, 2022 11:57 pm
Go to the major news sites CNN, Fox, etc. and see opinion pieces and commentary about how stereotypes are reinforced from Will Smith's actions. Some argue it set the race back 20 years. Several black writers have said it hurt their cause with the general public and with people predisposed to see black males in a certain light. While I doubt any of that, it seems worthy of discussion; but alas, everyone in the world can discuss it but us on the blog. Thanks for protecting us boss. We are just lawyers who deal with crime, murder, divorce and every foul thing in the world but need protection from discussing the hottest trending topic in the world today.
As you hopefully well know, the blog is not trying to "protect" us. The bloggers simply don't want to deal with getting sued and/or subpoenaed when people cross the line with comments. They don't get paid to run the blog and just don't want to deal with it. Don't like it? Start your own blog and let posters anonymously say anything they want.
@ 4:57 – Unfortunately, there are a certain contingent of people who regularly comment on this blawg who for whatever reason like to turn what should otherwise be a legitimate legal discussion into a nasty exchange of personal insults and worse. So, when I see a comment headed in that direction, or one that, in my personal opinion is inviting a conversation to head in that direction, I've been erring on the side of caution and nuking them. I know a lot of you don't like that, but I don't really see another viable option short of requiring sign-ins to post so we can simply ban the repeat offenders. Alternatively, if you want to help me moderate, please send your resume over and I'll review it at my earliest convenience. Just so you know, however, the job is thankless and the pay is shit.
Guest
Anonymous
March 29, 2022 3:50 pm
Dear Mr/Ms Dawg, I am making a pledge right now (I'm sure you can see my IP address if you care to) that I will not make any nasty personal comments, I will curb my inclination to say things I might not say to someone's face, and I will not try to steer a legitimate legal discussion into an area of politics that I know will go nowhere and simply make others mad. I mean this. I want to do my part. My use of the blog is as a valuable resource if I do not know something. Thanks.
Law dawg for sure knows our IP addresses, I made an edgy comment a year ago and they left a left a relatively unsettling comment "guessing" my age, gender, firm size, and area of practice. Either somehow gathered this info about me from my IP, or maybe young, male, insurance defense associates are just known for being d-bags.
Will Smith should be stripped of his Oscar. No excuse for violence, ever.
They are two separate things. He should be charged with assault and battery. He should receive his Oscar. IMHO.
Will Smith should not be stripped of his Oscar. Oscars are awarded for their work in the motion picture arts and sciences. Open-hand slapping a comedian who made an unfunny joke isn't part of any field of the motion picture arts and sciences. Whether he is invited to attend any future awards ceremonies is up for debate.
As for whether he is charged? It was an open-handed slap. One the one open-hand, it was done on live TV and watched by a number of folks. Also immediately memorialized by present-sense impression of Rock: "Will Smith just slapped the shit outta me!" Not hard to prove that case, so if the municipal DA wanted to get a win, maybe he gets charged. On the other open hand, it was an open hand with no significant injury and a victim who doesn't want to proceed. I'd like to think that most municipal DAs would have more pressing things to do with their time.
For a comedian who has made plenty of jokes at other's expense, it was pretty classless of Will.
Who cares? I care more about Daddy Mack's sex posts last week than this.
1:02,
I think the general rule is that is is classless to punch down, acceptable to punch across, and desirable to punch up. Chris Rock has previously said there there aren't really any Will Smith jokes – "oh, look at this guy, his terrible movies make him $20 million!" Earlier in the show, Regina Hall cracked a joke about the Smith's open marriage, which everyone laughed about. All in good fun, punching across or up, because their marriage is a choice. Chris Rock cracked a joke about physical appearance of someone who is ill, sensitive about that exact thing and can't do anything about it. That joke hurt, and you could tell that from Jada's stricken expression. Was that joke still punching up?
Doesn't excuse the slap, of course.
@4:17 Jada Pinkett Smith is not "ill". She has alopecia. It's just a hair loss condition. If she had cancer, etc.. that's "ill"
Will was laughing at the joke until he got the glare. He wasn't mad at Chris Rock he was terrified of what Jada would expose.
There is Youtube video out there of Jada laughing at her hair loss with Will. Simply search YouTube.
Until you've had an autoimmune disease, you really have no way of knowing what she is going thru. It sucks to have your body turn against you. The treatments suck and it is different for everyone so what works for one person is useless for another. For a woman to lose her hair, it is traumatic no matter what. Sometimes you laugh because if you don't laugh, you cry. Chris Rock was punching down. That said, I can't say Will handled it very well.
I appreciate that 7:12; however you heard a different joke than I heard. Chris Rock never expressly referenced her hair; in fact he never mentioned the word hair. He compared JPS to a movie character that was physically strong and ripped. There is zero evidence that he knew that her appearance was in any manner related to a disease, intended the joke in a derogatory manner or was making any comment on anything other than her fashion choices. Punching down is punching at someone weaker than you; there is no evidence that JPS is weaker or more fragile as a member of the Hollywood Elite seated in the front row of an event that has been known for comedy for 80 years. Fashion choices have been the butt of jokes for decades; actors roasting each other at the Oscars has been the pattern for decades.
I compare it to this Blog. There have been vicious things written on this Blog over the years (I will say that my name has been used here in a few). But I am not a public figure. However the nature of discourse is that there are topics that are fair game for discussion, and those of us who are members of this community have to expect that. For example when Judge Gonzalez retired, there were knives that came out from people. When it was ultimately disclosed why she retired, some of the people should have/did walk back their comments. Had Chris Rock known that it was not a purely fashion choice, perhaps he chooses a different joke (makes an open marriage joke which JPS laughed at earlier in the show). It is the nature of social commentary.
8:42 I disagree. Just because someone is a member of the hollywood elite doesn't mean it is okay to make fun of their medical issues. Jada's condition has been common knowledge for years. She's also spoke publicly about how insecure she's felt about it. I'd compare it to Chrissy Teigen losing her baby. Someone people love her and some people hate her, but mocking her miscarriage would be terrible…no matter how rich and famous and beautiful and privileged she is.
I too have been the topic of discussion on this blog and the WWLB. I take it as a compliment…love me or hate me, if you're taken the time to post comments about me, I'm clearly living rent free in some heads.
All that aside, what Will Smith did wasn't okay. He could have done a lot without resorting to violence. Compliments to Chris Rock I guess…he seems to be handling it with some class.
Why in the world did the chemical ingestion case go to trial in the first place? Stupefying.
I've noticed a large uptick in cases going to trial that shouldn't – I have been wondering the same thing. I have just been assuming firms are using potential high profile cases to go to trial, get the news coverage/advertisement value of the verdict, and then settle on the inevitable appeal.
I might be confusing this with another case, but I thought I heard or read that Station's offer was something like $350k. If that's how they looked at this case, then they deserved to get whacked. I hope the Plaintiff beat a Rule 68 offer.
Barley's asked the jury to return a verdict of $300,000. The highest pre-trial offer was much lower.
Rick Pyatt is smart enough to have done the CYA on valuation. Whoever was the TPA or in-house claims person (or the excess carrier if they have one) is going to be excreting a brick, as well they should.
Ravipudi got the huge cosmo payout a couple of years ago, right?
Turning the Oscars incident into a Nevada hypo –> T-Mobile hosts the 2022 Oscars and the same events transpire, except Chris Rock wants to sue and press charges.
Two questions:
(1) If you are Chris Rock, who do you retain to represent you? And, (2) if you are Will Smith, you do you retain to represent you in the civil case and against the criminal charges?
Obviously, you hire Rick James to represent you.
And then at deposition, ask Mr. Smith "what did the five fingers say to the face?"
The Will Smith slap was completely staged. Just a clever way to get people talking about the Oscars which is otherwise on its way to becoming irrelevant.
https://hindenburgresearch.com/jj-purchasing/
These are the people who exposed the Ponzi Scheme. This is wild. Attorneys getting a kickback of half the admin fee. WTF. Pitching a new investment as the ceiling is falling. #nottheonion
Go to the major news sites CNN, Fox, etc. and see opinion pieces and commentary about how stereotypes are reinforced from Will Smith's actions. Some argue it set the race back 20 years. Several black writers have said it hurt their cause with the general public and with people predisposed to see black males in a certain light. While I doubt any of that, it seems worthy of discussion; but alas, everyone in the world can discuss it but us on the blog. Thanks for protecting us boss. We are just lawyers who deal with crime, murder, divorce and every foul thing in the world but need protection from discussing the hottest trending topic in the world today.
As you hopefully well know, the blog is not trying to "protect" us. The bloggers simply don't want to deal with getting sued and/or subpoenaed when people cross the line with comments. They don't get paid to run the blog and just don't want to deal with it. Don't like it? Start your own blog and let posters anonymously say anything they want.
@ 5:58 – Thank you. You are exactly right.
@ 4:57 – Unfortunately, there are a certain contingent of people who regularly comment on this blawg who for whatever reason like to turn what should otherwise be a legitimate legal discussion into a nasty exchange of personal insults and worse. So, when I see a comment headed in that direction, or one that, in my personal opinion is inviting a conversation to head in that direction, I've been erring on the side of caution and nuking them. I know a lot of you don't like that, but I don't really see another viable option short of requiring sign-ins to post so we can simply ban the repeat offenders. Alternatively, if you want to help me moderate, please send your resume over and I'll review it at my earliest convenience. Just so you know, however, the job is thankless and the pay is shit.
Dear Mr/Ms Dawg, I am making a pledge right now (I'm sure you can see my IP address if you care to) that I will not make any nasty personal comments, I will curb my inclination to say things I might not say to someone's face, and I will not try to steer a legitimate legal discussion into an area of politics that I know will go nowhere and simply make others mad. I mean this. I want to do my part. My use of the blog is as a valuable resource if I do not know something. Thanks.
Personally, I like the moderation. I come here to hear gossip in the local legal community. Too often it's just moronic political/social commentary.
blogspot does not provide anyway to view the IP addresses of commenters.
Law dawg for sure knows our IP addresses, I made an edgy comment a year ago and they left a left a relatively unsettling comment "guessing" my age, gender, firm size, and area of practice. Either somehow gathered this info about me from my IP, or maybe young, male, insurance defense associates are just known for being d-bags.