The Sorry Saga of the Smith Smackdown Continues

The fact that this story has been second only to ongoing coverage of Russia39s invasion of Ukraine and has dominated most infotainment shows since Sunday hasn39t helped Plus The memes keep coming I39ve been looking at most of it along with continuing coverage on the internet and social mediaIt39s a shame that Smith39s display of ampedup toxic masculinity is the primary takeaway from the Oscars telecast because there was so much for virtually everyone to feel good about I39ll single out Questlove receiving an Academy Award for Summer of Soul as Best Documentary Feature I would argue that it was the Best Picture of 2022 What a shame that I was too engaged with Twitter at the time to really hear his acceptance speech since it happened moments after the smackI think what bothers me and millions more the most is the fact that if any of us did anything like this that is commit a violent crime in front of more witnesses than we could count all of it clearly caught on video we would likely have been escorted off the premises at the least quite possibly in handcuffs and spent some time in jail or at least at the local police station at worst Instead Smith the offender was allowed to stay in the theater was comforted by his privileged pals none of whom stepped forward to offer support to his victim and most of whom would a short time later give him a rousing standing ovation was not arrested or detained after the show and apparently enjoyed a highprofile party or two after the factIt was my intention to write at length about the Smith Smackdown as it has been called even though Smith was the smacker and Chris Rock the smackee But everything I want to say has already been said in any number of places I call your attention to two in particular Will Smith Did a Bad Bad Thing the latest Substack post by Kareem AbdulJabbar and Should Will Smith Be Allowed to Collect an Oscar After He Slapped Chris Rock by NPR39s popular television critic Eric Deggans Really these guys say it allAs for me I have quite a few lingering questions Most of them have been asked elsewhere but since we don39t yet have answers I39ll simply ask them againIs it possible that the LAPD will never bring charges against Smith Rock need not file charges for this to happen Surely they wouldn39t be that catastrophic for him His behavior was actionable but not feloniousDoes Smith39s wealth and position in Hollywood dictate that he live above the lawShould the Academy of Motion Picture Arts ampamp Sciences have allowed Smith to accept his award at the ceremony as if nothing had happened Does that count as sanctioning violenceWill the Academy cancel his award There is quite a debate raging over this one but surely something more than a slap pardon the expression on the wrist is called forIf not can we ever again trust the Academy of Motion Picture Arts ampamp Sciences to do the right thingAnd what about all those Hollywood luminaries who blather on and on whenever they have the chance to do so condemning violence in all its forms They accepted it and later applauded the wrongdoer on Sunday Should we ever again take to heart whatever they have to say about anythingI39m certain Rock is in demand but will the entertainment industry continue to keep Smith fantastically wealthy by casting him in their projectsAnd the greatest question of all amp8230 simply because it is so mysteriousWhat happened between the time that we saw Smith laughing hysterically at Rock39s seemingly spontaneous GI Jane joke which wasn39t very funny and could actually have been taken as a compliment to Smith39s wife Jada PinkettSmith if you think about it and a few seconds later his assault on Rock Smith didn39t appear to simply be pissed off though PinkettSmith sure did Rather he seemed to be fullon enraged especially when he returned to his seat and screamed at Rock Twice With fbombs And then later wept as he accepted his award and attempted to ameliorate the situation with a lengthy emotional speech that seemed better prepared than those typically given by winnersDuring my career I had the opportunity to casually chat with Smith and Rock on separate occasions both long ago They would never remember but I will never forget They were both approachable many stars are not They were both attentive many stars are not They both made unhurried conversation many stars do not But above all they were both very nice and uncommonly polite especially SmithTo summarize my reaction to the quotincidentquot It wonders meClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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The Sorry Saga of the Smith Smackdown Continues

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Ed Martin

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