Bad Boys: Ride or Die had a great opening weekend & now there are tons of thinkpieces about how the audience is still cool with Will Smith after he slapped Chris Rock. [Pajiba]
Bradley Cooper’s current facial hair is so unfortunate. I just got the ick. [Socialite Life]
The Morning Show cast updates: Julianna Margulies is out & Marion Cotillard is in. The Marguilies stuff is unsurprising, iykyk. [LaineyGossip]
A Pride Month announcement: Maren Morris is bisexual! [Jezebel]
Unexpected ways to die. [Buzzfeed]
Kerry Washington stepped out to support her husband. [JustJared]
Kim Porter’s father speaks out about Sean Combs. [Hollywood Life]
I can’t believe it’s taken this long for Ice-T to promote ice tea. [Seriously OMG]
Ayo Edebiri looked gorgeous at the Inside Out 2 premiere. [RCFA]
Azealia Banks hates Lorde too, damn. [OMG Blog]
no surprise BB4 did well. It’s a popular franchise and if the entertainment media as well as celebs & known folks who spoke about that slap as if Will had slapped them (or Betty White!), they’d have known that lots of folks… esp Black folks… still support Will.
As someone mentioned on twitter, a lot of those folks who used the slap for their own gain must’ve missed how pretty much everyone at the oscars ran to Will to support him, not Chris Rock. That was very telling but when you only care to make things about yourself as a lot of those Karens and Kevins did, you miss the obvious.
“pretty much everyone at the oscars ran to Will to support him, not Chris Rock.”
This.
Denzel Washington, Tyler Perry, and Bradley Cooper practically formed a prayer circle around WS, with BC hugging him on camera.
Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry both claim that they also checked on Chris Rock. I think Will should have been escorted out immediately but what’s done is done. People love this franchise, I expected it to do well.
The hypocrisy is mind boggling. They gave awards, shout outs to Brad Pitt who abused his children, his wife according to FBI report, but Will turned into the unforgivable figure. It really spoke volumes when all the respected black men in the room went to check on Will instead of Chris.
Yeeeep. This.
I mean, hasn’t Chris Rock repeatedly said nasty, misogynist stuff, in public, about Jada Smith? The more I hear about it, the more it seems like Will’s reaction wasn’t all that unreasonable.
@NJGR, yeah people made a video of him talking about Jada for years. It is obvious he is obsessed with her, maybe she rejected him in the past? It is usually rejection that makes men that obsessive with a woman. The writers said that the Jada joke wasn’t on the prompter, so he came up with it himself just to sh*t on their night, when it was meant to be Will’s big night. He even recorded his netflix standup where he is calling Jada a bitch on Jada’s hometown. Just because Jada is annoying to people, they are ignoring the stalking behavior of that guy.
People like to conveniently forget how basically everyone (including his fellow Best Actor nominees) stood up to clap for Will’s speech and went to check on him and Jada.
The ones that came out in droves to support Chris Rock were white people that had no problem giving Roman Polanski a standing ovation, and the anti-woke crowd, and I think that says a lot about the kind of person Chris Rock is and to whom he caters to.
More media scrutiny should have been placed on Julianna Margulies’s treatment of Archie Panjabi during the run of The Good Wife. It is surprising it has taken this long for her behavior to draw real scrutiny.
I would truly love to know what happened during that time. I mean it got so obviously bad but no one will talk about it.
Julianna Margulies is just crazy full of herself. Like, extraordinarily so, even for an actor. I saw her at an event once where she spoke briefly from the stage, and proceeded to reprimand the host organization for where they seated her. It was a relatively intimate affair in a theater space. A fund raiser for an organization we were all deeply connected to. Everyone just rolled their eyes.
So much this. I can’t even rewatch the Goodwife because of it. I love(d) both actresses and their chemistry was great, but it’s really obvious to tell in the series where the rift began. Panjabi is the more talented actor, for sure. What’s really funny is that in the series there was supposed to be a generational gap between them, that was part of the dynamic, and in reality they’re only a couple years apart in age. Panjabi is just gifted with agelessness. I wonder if that was part of the bug up JM’s ass, that Panjabi is her age playing a much younger part. I completely side-eye Juliana now because without evidence to the contrary I think she’s that petty.
JM is petty and her recent racist rant solidified that.
Her treatment and attempted blackballing or Archie was unforgivable and this is the one time I say thank god for fandoms otherwise the truth would never have got out. Learning how Archie was treated and then one day just disappeared when JM became one of the executive producers of the show I think really harmed JM’s rep and rightly so.
It’s giving SJP and Kim Catrall vibes – just really mean and narcissistic.
She strikes me as the sort of actor who needs to be the centre of attention at all times.
The Morning show also just axed her character so maybe her karma is catching up with her.
I said below that I was “sorry” about them axing Margulies, but I really just meant that I liked the way her character challenges Reese’s character. It’s hardly a prestige role, though. They can work in other characters that serve the same purpose. Good riddance. (Meanwhile, Panjabi is killing it on several British shows and Under the Bridge).
The fandom talked about it a lot.
It started by counting how many episodes they had not shared a scene together and then it became a bigger and bigger thing.
It still seemed a coincidence and a fandom in-joke after about 5 episodes (there was in-character reason as well for them being less close) but it became more and more of a glaring thing as the count grew higher and higher. Real speculating started then about issues on set.
Infamous was their last scene and people immediately speculating they had filmed it seperately, which was confirmed later, I think.
The characters still communicated by phone, but not in person.
There were articles in the media too, but I don’t think it was an all encompasing huge scandal at the time.
The rating were good, but it wasn’t Game Of Thrones level or anything, so not everyone cared about this drama as much as the fandom.
I love Will Smith. I don’t condone what he did to the bully of his wife though. But Chris had it coming after all the years of bullying Jada. And I’m not a fan of her.
Omg stop with the damn pearl clutching. It’s been done to death
@Tanesha Stop gate-keeping people’s responses to something that transpired on public television for all of us to consume. If you don’t like it, move on to the next comment.
Take your own advice Grant
^^ This 100%, whilst I do not condone violence in any way, everyone has their breaking point and CR’s continued disrespect over a 20 year period was just too much.
I am glad that WS apologised and sadly he has paid a high price for it and I am sad that the Richard Williams moment was blighted by the incident, but the backlash that CR got in the Black Hollywood speaks volumes about how much quite a few people have been wanting to do the same for quite a while.
I understand that he has a learning difficulty that makes it hard for him to understand social cues but his continued harassment of Jada needs to be spoken about. Any other man in Hollywood would have been condemned for that creepy behaviour but he appears to be the doyenne and token of white Hollywood so he gets a pass.
I hope he has finally learned.
I don’t think Will had anything to apologize for, he did nothing wrong as far as I’m concerned. Chris Rock had that slap coming for a long time. I wish he slapped him twice tbh
Right, let’s just go around slapping people in public! That’s a great look.
If Chris had it coming, who’s supposed to do it? This sounds like talking out of both sides of your mouth.
Love Will Smith and his movies – maybe this will make Netflix reverse their decision and make Bright 2. Pretty please Netflix!!!!!
I’m disappointed about Margulies, but it frees up Reese’s character for new drama.
I can’t get the mindset of someone who seriously dislikes Will Smith for the slap. It’s like obviously you shouldn’t go up and hit somebody like that but come on… the target was Chris Rock and he was talking shit about his wife.
I never stopped loving and supporting Will Smith. The most offensive thing I feel Will or Jada has ever done is let their kids hang out with the Kardashians.
Ioan Gruffudd was in BB4 and took Bianca to the premier
As his legal troubles with Alice look to be over as they signed a stipulation because she had still not produced her financial info 4 years into all of this
Will Smith never lost the support of Black people.
This part. Do I think he should have slapped Chris publicly like that? Well no. But Chris has been talking shit about Jada for years. Plus, the way white people ran to denounce Will after he did everything to conform to respectability politics for three decades? Added to the fact that all the most prominent Black people in the room went to check on him and not Chris?
Glad the movie opened well.
Full stop.
He took one for the team and whilst I do not condone violence – I thank him for his service in respect of Chris Rock.
I hope CR has now taken the time to ponder how he repeatedly clowns black people and especially black women and how hurtful that is.
He never lost support from the majority of us white people either. CR is a d*ck and has been rude to the man’s wife for years. Maybe the pearl clutchers at the event were offended and all that crap, but there are more of us who supported his actions than didn’t.
I love Will Smith, never stopped. I honestly didn’t care much about the slap and thought to much was made about it. Also how anyone thought he wouldn’t be fine is a mystery to me. Will Smith is beloved by everyone and honestly the only people pearl clutching were those looking for a reason to be upset the rest of the world was like yeah no we love him.
Also most people love this franchise, as much as I love Will not a big Bad Boys fan, so this was clearly going to hit. Also he has been doing an incredible job promoting it. Will Smith is a true movie star, he gets the gig and does what he needs to do. I have loved watching him surprise people at theaters, it has been great.
I am neutral on Will Smith the actor. I don’t dislike him but I don’t find myself watching really anything with him in it (I would probably enjoy King Richard but then I always think of Richard III and it’s just a lot). I hate this for him and am quite honestly, over it being constantly brought up against him.
Was it wrong? Yes. Was it assault? Yes. Did Chris Rock have his chance to press charges? I do believe so. A 2 year ban from the Oscar’s AT MOST is what was needed here. “People still love Will Smith!” Like yeah? All I’ve ever heard is that he’s a good dude, family guy, does his work, etc. Why would people stop liking him because he slapped someone who had been repeatedly dissing Will’s wife for years.
Good for him (Smith). The demonization of him by the white celebs and other non Black people was definitely a master class of you must be the friendly Black Negro at all times. Bah.
Juliana Marguiles must love that white privilege that keeps letting her get away with being so damn awful.
Or just, you know, don’t hit people…? It’s wild to me that people are making excuses for someone slapping another adult full-on on the face. I get that the alopecia comment was rude but Jada is kind of an awful person herself.
“It turns out that people still love Will Smith’s fun movies”
Was this ever in question? Will Smith, alongside actors like Tom Cruise and Leo DiCaprio, is one of the last true movie stars Hollywood has left. We never stopped loving charming action star Will Smith. Jury still out on serious actor Will Smith lol
And most nonwhite people forgot about the slap a week after it happened. It was white people clutching pearls about it for years.
Honestly, do I think the slap itself was a good thing? No, but it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person. Chris Rock is OBSESSED with Jada and has been harassing the Smith family for years. His entire career is based on making fun of black ppl, black women in particular, for the amusement of white audiences. He can step on Legos for all I care.
I had shouting arguments with my partner about the slap (me pro Will, him pro ‘violence is never acceptable no matter what’). I’m Team Smith all the way. I hope he gets to fully come back, because the reaction to the slap was insane. How different would it have been if Brad Pitt had done that in defence of Angelina, back when they were still together? SO DIFFERENT. Ugh, makes me mad. People still love you Will, keep doing you!
“How different would it have been if Brad Pitt had done that in defence of Angelina”
Yuuuup. lbr people would have called Brad a hero and a badass for defending his lady’s honor or whatever.
The reaction to the slap was heavily racialized. I’d quietly distance myself from any nonblack person that had a strong anti-Will reaction to the slap tbh.
After getting hate from all sides, having bisexuality become a dirty word, all the biphobia and all that shit that we have to face daily, having our experiences erased, getting the least support from lgbt organizations, etc… Seeing my fellow bis proudly and loudly say “I am bisexual!” fills me with so much joy. ngl my trans bi ass cries a bit every time I see someone proudly label themselves bisexual.
Loving all the comments here, I’m Team Will also, etc. So now that that’s out there, semi-relevant question: What do y’all think about Will Smith’s win?
I was on Team Denzel for that one. None of the other nominees had it, imo. Reading the anonymous ballots articles I got the impression it was between Will and Andrew. No one else had a chance. It was a flop year for the Best Actor category tbh. I didn’t love any performance except Denzel’s in Macbeth, a movie that didn’t get nearly as much love as it actually deserved.
I’m on team Had it Comin’
Some people will eventually find themselves in the Find Out Phase (because of see above).
That being said I’ve only ever seen 1/2 of the first BB movie on Fox (before it had a news network) on a World Television Premiere in the 90s. Don’t plan on breaking my streak anytime soon so…
I’ve always thought that The Slap was an “everbody sucks here” situation. Chris Rock had it coming, for sure, for the lame, extremely dated “joke” he made about Jada that night and for everything he’d said about her before then. But I still think less of Will Smith now because of the timing. That confrontation could’ve waited until after the show. By all means, stand up for your wife, but don’t steal another man’s moment for that shit. Questlove was being recognized for making a great film and should’ve been allowed to bask in that achievment, but all anyone remembered was a couple of grown-ass men with poor impulse control acting like fools (and really, it kinda overshadowed ALL the winners that year, not just Questlove).
^^Miranda said my thoughts exactly. I rooted for nobody in the debacle, though the public approbation against Will Smith was overblown. Will did something foolish and Chris Rock was being an asshole, having been on that trajectory for years.
Someone upthread mentioned Brad Pitt—remember during the MeToo Weinstein revelations, Gwyneth Paltrow talked about telling Brad Pitt during their relationship that she was also once harassed by Weinstein. Pitt later confronted Weinstein at an event and threatened violence on him.
Which reminds me that Angelina Jolie also said a few years ago an early crack in her relationship with Pitt was when he partnered with Weinstein on the production/distribution of Killing Them Softly even after she told him of her own history of being harassed by Weinstein.
While I’m sure Chris Rock didn’t know about Jada’s condition (and got unfairly slapped), the reaction to the slap was so fkg crazy. I don’t watch the Oscars so I only heard about it online, I didn’t see it live. Seeing people’s overly negative reaction (even on this site), I was expecting some Chris Brown / Jay Rice level of violence. Then I watched the clip on social media… it was a slap that didn’t even injured Rock. I hope it’s the end of this tired discourse now.
If you’re talking about the NFL player who knocked out his girlfriend in a elevator, his name is actually Ray Rice, but I agree. It was weird to see people act like this was the most vicious attack they ever witness when this slap was tamer than the average bar fight.
I’m glad it did well. I will certainly watch, I watched all the precious ones. As someone mentioned, I hope Netflix works on Bright 2 with him now that they know that people don’t give a 💩 that Chris Rock for a well deserved slap.
Not surprised that BB4 is doing well. I am surprised to hear people talk about how good it is so I will definitely watch it – so far, BB4 and Alien: Romulus are the only movies I want to go to cinemas to see and pre-Covid, I went regularly. I didn’t blame Will for the slap (not condoning violence but everyone has their limits) and hope he continues to make good movies.
I’m ambivalent on Will Smith. I thought it was gross to slap a person on television for everyone to see and I think the whole thing made him look pretty juvenile. I think everyone involved in this is kind of an @$$hole though, from Will to Chris Rock to Jada. Back to Will, I think he’s a fine actor, nothing particularly special, but I saw the new Bad Boys movie because I loved the first three. I think the nostalgia factor is strong too.