NPR is reporting that Academy officials asked Will Smith to

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Re: Agree, I thought the joke was fine. He and others were

Mar 31, 2022, 9:57 AM

Ehhh, making fun of a medical condition that causes change to someone's physical appearance in a professional field that prioritizes physical appearance - and especially is know to be fairly punitive towards actresses of a certain age. Yeah, even for Rock that was a bit out-of-bounds. Even actresses that choose to cut off their hair for a role (like GI Jane) some have pointed that the decision has some serious consequences on their career.

I don't condone Smith's actions but I respect his choice there. I know they have a odd relationship but still, their choice. Knowing you are going to be walking into a field of crazy minefields, just don't do it. If anything, I thought Rock was kinda bombing, so the Smith slap took over the narrative rather than another meh hosted event.

Side note. My wife has vitiligo and it is visible on her face. She works in the media realm. If someone else within her profession was mocking that condition or really the result of that condition, I know I would not say the joke was fine. I know that some in her profession have even told her face is "uncomfortable" to look at. So it isn't just a joke as it does affect people's livelihood.

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I rarely watched, or just check to see if I happened to land on a big award, or funny comedian. This year, I was just spot checking and knew it must be close to the major awards and just happened to catch this incident live. The Oscars, like many other things, such as Miss America, the political conventions, just seem to have gotten smaller over the years. I know they are not physically smaller, but they used to seem bigger than life. They haven't seemed that way for a long time. Sometimes too much of a peek behind the curtain is not a good thing.
The Oscars seemingly have gotten less and less prestigious over the last few years. This junk Monday night really just took any little bit of mystique it had remaining. And why are you so cheap that you have a stage that anyone can just stroll up on without even going up a few stairs. That was just bush league. I can tell you that these events that used to mean so much back in the day, mean very little to the youth of today. It means zilch to teens and twenty year olds.