March 30, 2022

"Particularly for his wife. And she’s got alopecia. So… not a happy home life."

I got through the entire blogging day yesterday without mentioning Will Smith, but this morning, reading the comments in last night's cafe, I took the prompt to watch a clip of Joe Rogan talking about it. 

That's a 15-minute clip. I still intend to watch the rest of it, but 5 1/2 minutes in, I found myself wondering what Ricky Gervais has said about the incident. Ricky is brilliant, and he's a stand-up comedian who's hosted awards shows and roasted the big stars. Here he is at the 2020 Golden Globes. 

I would expect Ricky to defend the role of the comedian versus the stars, but all he did was one little thing, retweet this tweet from the British "Office" twitter feed that shows the tiniest clip from an old episode of the show:

ADDED: From that 2020 Golden Globes performance: 

 

"Let's go out with a bang. Let's have a laugh at your expense — shall we? Remember: They're just jokes. We're all going to die soon. And there's no sequel."

Oh, but the "just jokes" defense — just jokes at the expense of the hyper-privileged — that's not going to work anymore. It's the Era of That's Not Funny, and the preening empaths are out there in force telling you never ever ever ever to joke about anything that's actually physically wrong with a person. Or something like that. Can we still laugh at bald men? At bald white women? Who knows? I'm guessing we've reached end of the entire tradition of comedians on stage at awards shows making fun of the stars for the amusement of the little people out there in the dark. Whoever they get to emcee will be telling the stars they are wonderful and beautiful. Will Smith smacked the comedy out of the whole show. Get all the jokes out ya fucking mouth, from now until the end of Hollywood.

100 comments:

Christopher B said...

I'm sure Mrs. Pinkett Smith finds the situation stressful but you can make anything sound like a disease if you use a word you'd normally only find in a medical transcript.

David Begley said...

Looks like my prediction was right. The Oscars show further proved that our culture is exhausted and failing.

Can anyone imagine someone slapping Johnny Carson?

gilbar said...

so, is the alopecia why she's a sleazy slut now? Is it compensation for being bald?

gilbar said...

It's just Too Bad for Will Smith that Chris Rock isn't a poor white guy; 'cause then..
Everyone on the Earth would be PRAISING his Actions.
But when it's Black on Black violence, are basic reaction is to ignore it

Ann Althouse said...

"Get all the jokes out ya fucking mouth, from now until the end of Hollywood."

Which won't be long.

mezzrow said...

"Look at what you made me do."

Can we begin to talk about the issue of impulse control, anger, and violence? It's a good thing that the ceremony took place in a gun-free zone. Someone could have really gotten hurt.

The culture sends its signals about what it considers a proper role model to be. Some innocent bystander pays the ultimate price for those lessons when they go completely awry.

Or, maybe I'm just reading too much into the situation. Let's see what the next few months look like.

RideSpaceMountain said...

Nonsense. Happy homelife is cucking hubby, telling the world, and then embarrassing him on live TV, to be followed later by a spot on the Oprah Winfrey show. And if it isn't, fiercely heterosexual Will Smith's hand wants a word with you.

He's a tough guy btw. In real life. He stayed at a holiday Inn last night.

Bob Boyd said...

Gervais is right.
Everyone knows Delilah cut off Samson's hair, but do you know why? That's right, fucking alopecia. This is a long-standing problem for mankind.
Even in the caveman days, if a woman had alopecia, the guy couldn't drag her back to his cave in the traditional manner. Her hair would come off and she'd have to get up and just follow him which kind of killed the mood a little bit. The relationship would get off to a bad start and never fully recover.
Alopecia sucks, but at least it knocked Ukraine off the front page for a day.

tim maguire said...

TickPick said it sold "more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined."

John henry said...

I understand that she essentially pulled her hair out by the roots. Perhaps not intentionally but by having really tight braids.

Does a self-inflicted thing like this count as a "disease" or as "stupidity"?

Assuming my understanding is correct which it may not be.

John LGBTQBNY Henry

Old and slow said...

I've watched the Ricky Gervais Oscar's introduction monologue before, but I had forgotten just how sharp and hilarious it was! Tom Hanks looked like he was going to throw up. I love it!

Iman said...

Apparently, you CAN be too rich and too skinny.

POWERBALL!

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Curious I selected Jada Pinkett Smith from the plethora of tags and found she’s barely been mentioned, with the notable exception of the rejuvenated yoni episode. Strange.

David Begley said...

The root cause of the slap is that the wife sleeps around. He can’t slap her for her knowingly and openly fucking random men, so he has to defend his wife’s honor on TV as her husband.

Odi said...

The Oscars will still be hosted by comedians. They'll just be the right sort of comedian... the kind who do safe comedy... who will make jokes at the expense of the rubes not in Hollywood.

RideSpaceMountain said...

@Gilbar

"so, is the alopecia why she's a sleazy slut now?"

Don't know. All I know is the sex I've had with bald women wasn't the greatest. Hair is very sexual for women, for most its absence affects their confidence and makes them very self-conscious. It also means there's nothing to pull.

Rollo said...

Late to the party. Everybody talked about it yesterday. Nobody cares anymore. Short attention spans. Easily distracted.

Uh ... what were we talking about?

Pete said...

Yes, Ann, the standard is we can no longer laugh at bald men. I've informed my wife that she must slap the next person who makes a negative comment or joke on my lack of hair, since it is obviously my physical disability! Also, she cannot make comments on me not hearing her since that is also my disability!

By the way, we watched "King Richard" last night. Lot's of slapping/punching of and by Will Smith.

MadisonMan said...

The left is full of humorless scolds who want to control your life. This is just one more example. The slap is comedic gold, and poor Will Smith (not really poor) will be defined by that -- it will be in his obit.
Who will get the first interview is the question. Oprah? I try to recall who interviewed Hugh Grant after the hooker incident, or George Michael after the cruising arrest. I fail.

jim5301 said...

I think one of the most insightful takes on the matter is from the former Lewis Alcindor (okay to joke about names?).

https://kareem.substack.com/p/will-smith-did-a-bad-bad-thing?s=r

Leland said...

"You need to calm down"

Interesting how alopecia only seems to harm the sex life of the partner.

michaele said...

Ann, your last paragraph of summations sets an awfully high bar for humor, honesty and snark.

gilbar said...

shouldn't we be addressing The REAL ISSUE?

How are the Chinese going to react to cuckold Will Smith defending his wife's "Honor"?
THAT, is The Real Issue

If the Chinese are Okay with it.. Okay, it's Cool!
If the Chinese are NOT Okay with it.. Goodbye Will Smith
America counts For NOTHING. Movies are made in Canada, for Chinese

Mrs. X said...

I saw a meme that said, good thing Chris Rock didn’t make a joke about Alec Baldwin’s wife.

Ann Althouse said...

Too bad Will Smith didn't use gloves to do the slap. Then Rock would have been challenged to a duel.

Quayle said...

Notice how supposedly liberating "new" radical social norms always involve a weakening of internal individual constraints, which then eventually call forth in society new and increasingly harsh external constraints. See how that works? Don't expect people who never say no to their apatite and passions to suddenly be able to say no to an apatite and passion. They won't check themselves, so at some limit - some boundary - society has to try to check them, which is not just inefficient but is eventually unsustainable.

What starts as a rush freedom ends in more external constrains, and coercion and violence to enforce those constraints.

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Why should alopecia cause an unhappy home life? Is anyone going to discuss the potential stress that their open marriage might cause?

ccscientist said...

The medical condition alopecia areata is latin for "without hair area"--medical terms are so great, you learn so much.

It seems Rock is good at ducking because be came right back with a joke. If someone Smith's size really connected, it would have been bad.

I love how the Woke came to Smith's defense, claiming that whites are judging the violence from a racist standpoint and they aren't allowed to have an opinion. Sure, we can't notice the spreading violence the past few years. No problem. Let's all pretend.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Speaking of things worth watching and remembering--

This Episode of Tucker is something the entire nation should watch.

Astonishing reminder.

AMDG said...

On his Podcast Bill Burr’s only comment in the incident is that he can’t wait for Chris Rock’s next show.

Ann Althouse said...

Glove slap.

Jefferson's Revenge said...

I've been in more than my fair share of fights and had a middling boxing career in the service, almost turning pro. I looked at the video more closely yesterday. From a technical perspective, Chris Rock was actually very impressive. As Smith marched up to him in an aggressive manner, Rock kept his hands in his pockets and did not respond to the aggressiveness. Rock was calm and seemed mentally alert. This was validated by his reaction to the slap, or what could have been a punch instead. Rock did not know what was coming. Watch Rock's body stay still. All he did was roll his face so the force of the slap was greatly lessened. Then, afterwards, there was no panicked defensive reaction by Rock as you see sometimes in someone who was hit by surprise. In fact, he stood there calmly, unhurt and even left his hands in his pockets. He knows how to slip a punch. Technically well done and he was definitely not afraid. Either he's been in fights before or is very well trained. I think. It's possible that Smith marched off the stage quickly because he felt that Rock was more of a threat than he thought.I quick job breaks Smith's nose and than Smith looks like an even bigger idiot.

Iman said...

Putin would do himself a favor by declaring a Season of Healing in Ukraine, no?

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

"lets have a laugh at your expense."

Classic. The entire crowd of self-absorbed multi-millionaires have no idea how to process that.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Glove slap. LOL. I've never seen that.

gspencer said...

"not a happy homelife"

"Oh, the policeman's lot is not a happy one,"

neither is the lot of the cuckold.

Right, Will?

Lucien said...

Jokes at the Oscars will continue -- don't go tearing your hair out over it.

wendybar said...

Odi said...
The Oscars will still be hosted by comedians. They'll just be the right sort of comedian... the kind who do safe comedy... who will make jokes at the expense of the rubes not in Hollywood.

3/30/22, 7:38 AM

Right?? The only jokes that can be made, can only be made about Donald Trump and his supporters. All other jokes will not be permitted, because somebody on the left might get offended.

Wince said...

And now… The Fish Slapping Dance.

Althouse said...
Get all the jokes out ya fucking mouth, from now until the end of Hollywood.

"And there's no sequel."

Actually, there is... a sequel to 'fish slapping'.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

David Begley said...

Can anyone imagine someone slapping Johnny Carson?

Not without Carson decking them in response!

RBE said...

I feel bad for the Williams family in all this mess. This was supposed to be their night to shine at the Oscars.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

“That’s not funny anymore” compliments “safetyism” very nicely.

The authors define safetyism as a culture or belief system in which safety (which includes "emotional safety") has become a sacred value, which means that people become unwilling to make trade-offs demanded by other practical and moral concerns.

Authors: Greg Lukianoff; Jonathan Haidt
Audio read by: Jonathan Haidt
https://en.m.wikipedia.org › wiki

The Coddling of the American Mind - Wikipedia

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Curious I selected Jada Pinkett Smith from the plethora of tags and found she’s barely been mentioned, with the notable exception of the rejuvenated yoni episode. Strange.

That's another dimension to it. Will and Jada were supposed to be a power couple like Jay-Z and Beyonce, but it doesn't seem to have worked that way. Will had a string of hit movies until he started trying to prop up his no talent son's career, but Jada hasn't exactly been burning up screens.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

The Simpsons - ahead of the curb once again. Isn't it funny, after all the technological advances, behaviourally we’re not far from Victorian duels. In fact, one could argue we might be worse off now. A duel would have resolved the issue, which now hangs like a perennial popping elephant in everybody’s handheld living room. fuck!

JPS said...

Jefferson's Revenge:

"Technically well done and he was definitely not afraid."

Yes. Personally I thought Smith lost the exchange after the second "Keep my wife's NAME! out yo'..." when Rock eyed him and said very firmly, "I'm going to. Okay?"

Whether or not Rock was out of line, or Smith's anger was justified, in that moment we had a middle-aged child throwing a tantrum, and a collected adult refusing to play.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Gervais and his Netflix deal have to wait to find out what the official sanctions on Will Smith will be, if any.

He has his own meal ticket to protect.

One Eye said...

Life is so much easier when you have a good sense of humor about things, especially your physical appearance.

Time magazine just did a story on Vitalik Buterin the creator of Ethereum. Someone on twitter said he looked like Tom Brady on dog food. Buterin took it in stride (and had to look up Tom Brady).

Hoping the Oscars sends a loud and clear message with penalty for Smith. 5 year ban on being eligible for an award in any capacity would do it.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
One Eye said...

MadisonMan said:

"I try to recall who interviewed Hugh Grant after the hooker incident"

Pretty sure it was Jay Leno on the Tonight show who opened with "What the hell were you thinking?". That was the show that cemented Leno's ratings lead over Letterman.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Joe Rogan clip:

go to the 7:30 minute mark, listen for about 20-30 seconds.. ..Joe sums it up.

Christopher said...

I gave up on that Rogan clip last night about six or seven minutes in because they were kinda talking past each other.

Maynard said...

I'm starting to think that the slap was real ... and planned beforehand.

It was great marketing. Everyone is talking about the Oscars now.

Sebastian said...

"Can we still laugh at bald men? At bald white women? Who knows?"

We conservatives know, and the answer is yes, provided the targets are not a favored group and cannot effectively fight back.

So, bald men are a fine target if white, particularly if they once had orange hair. Bald white women possibly OK, especially if named Palin, but not if battling cancer or otherwise likely to jerk tears.

wendybar said...

Will made fun of a bald man on Arsenio Hall a few years back. Should that band member have gotten up and smacked Will in the face?? If not, why not?? It's okay to slap people who say something about you that you disagree with now. https://www.thethings.com/will-smith-bad-joke-on-arsenio/

Breezy said...

I was curious as to why Jada has a shadow of hair on her head, and does not exhibit obvious missing patches of hair, as I would expect to see on a person with alopecia. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley is totally bald, for instance, though its not clear how she manages her alopecia. Does she shave and wax her head, as many men do? After reading a bit, traction alopecia is reversible if the early symptoms are recognized and hair-care behaviors are changed. So I am just curious if Jada’s condition will improve over time, since she does seem to have a head of hair, though perhaps not as thick as it once was. I hope for her sake, that it does.

Regardless, she seems to be a tremendous drag on Will Smith. I don’t think he can begin to put this behind him (if that’s even possible!) while still married to her or otherwise in her orbit.

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

If you meet a woman who is rocking the bald or almost bald look, or even if you know her and know she has whatever the skin condition, is it or is it not nice to say: you are rocking that look, it reminds me of GI Jane? Surely this means "incredibly hot"? Although my son says it is a sign of old age to keep making such ancient references; the Moore movie came out in 1997.

I googled movie, "you look like": here's a pickup line from "17 Again":

“I just want to tell you that you look like my dog.” ... “Your hair looks like my dog's hair. No, it's shiny and soft. We give my dog special food. It's got flax in it. She's a sweetheart. Well, she died.” Of course, his crush then asks, “So, I look like your dead dog?” Poor guy.

There is a vast list of movie insults, some referring directly to the disability that some of us like to think of as our appearance--even after we have fixed ourselves up a bit.

Bridesmaids: a very young woman/teenager to a woman of ... closer to 40 than 30. "You look like an old mop."

Cher in "The Witches of Eastwick":
"You are physically repulsive, intellectually retarded, you're morally reprehensible, vulgar, insensitive, selfish, stupid, you have no taste, a lousy sense of humour and you smell. You're not even interesting enough to make me sick."

Ceciliahere said...

I had watched Ricky Gervais host this Golden Globes awards show many times on YouTube. Ricky is brilliant. He tells the truth, without fear, to the audience filled with narcissistic actors who are not accustomed to being criticized…especially face-to-face and on world-wide TV. I love it! Ricky is a man of truth, who told the audience what he thought of them. Ricky has gigantic balls and cannot be intimidated by people who think they should only be adored. These actors all had it coming when he spoke the truth about their hypocritical, phony, shallow lives.

I haven’t watched the Oscars in several years and have no intention to watch in the future. Unless, Ricky Gervais hosts.

AlbertAnonymous said...

It’s garbage. Publicist spin (with a heapin helpin of media support).

Will Smith laughed at the joke. Jada Pinkett Smith did not. Then a moment or two later (maybe she said something to him?) he goes all crazy eyed, slap, “keep my wife’s name out yo fuckin mouth”

It was NOT a reaction to the joke, like someone said something about his wife in a bar and he pounced the speaker without warning.

But now comes the spin….

Oh he’s just defending his wife’s honor - no. Not a bar scene, and he laughed at first.
Guys do this all the time, defend their women - no. Not in tuxedos at the Oscar’s. Not over a comedians joke.
You don’t understand black culture… oh God here we go…
She has alopecia- you can’t joke about someone’s health conditions - no. That’s more BS trying to put blame on Chris Rock.
He’s just emotional, and blah blah blah. No regard for mastery of self. Excuse all outbursts (except from people we don’t like).

The telling thing, the thing you’re not hearing about, maybe (best benefit of the doubt) because he’s a kid so media is leaving it alone, is Jaden Smith’s tweet after the slap: “that’s how we do it”

This is not a provoked emotional outburst, this is a lack of values. And the media wants to support, condone or at least ignore it’s violent/vulgar/uncivilized imagery and effect on others.

Oh, and it’s Trumps fault…

Eleanor said...

This whole thing made me look for Chris Rock's documentary, "Good Hair". It's streaming free on imDb. I grew up with "Black is beautiful", and even white kids trying to grow afros so it was a real eye-opener. No wonder Jada's hair fell out.

Narr said...

My wife has thin, sparse hair. Her father was, like Pnin, ideally bald. One of her brothers also.

When we met it was long and straight--perfect for the early 70s--but her only choices of style since have been long and sparse or short and sparse.

It's a bigger issue for her than for me, and luckily she looks good in short hair, which she prefers too.

No drama about impressive sounding medical conditions.

Wilbur said...

Here's part of Kareem's insightful take:
" Smith just gave comfort to the enemy by providing them with the perfect optics they were dreaming of. Fox News host Jeanine Pirro wasted no time going full-metal jacket racist by declaring the Oscars are “not the hood.” What would she have said if Brad Pitt slapped Ricky Gervais? This isn’t Rodeo Drive? Many will be reinvigorated to continue their campaign to marginalize African Americans and others through voter suppression campaign."

He's just a Leftist, seemingly compelled to tie everything to the Great Political Struggle. He's dead to me too.

Temujin said...

I think you nailed it, Ann. "Get all the jokes out ya fucking mouth, from now until the end of Hollywood."

And I do believe we are at that end. At least the Hollywood we all knew in the 20th century. That Hollywood is gone, soon to be replaced by digital actors/actresses, and optional endings to suit all tastes.

If you want to see actual actors in the very near future, you'll have to go to a play. And that will take some actual talent which will render at least half of Hollywood's supply of actors/actresses obsolete.

Ricky Gervais is a treasure because he's among the few who don't give a crap about any of this. He says what's on his mind and it's often hilarious. His monologue from 2020 was an instant classic and may come to be remembered as the Announcement of the End of Hollywood.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

“Can anyone imagine someone slapping Johnny Carson?”

Wayne Newton did (fast forward to 8:19).

Left Bank of the Charles said...

What do we think Will Smith’s punishment from the Academy will be?

(A) Doesn’t get to present the Oscar for Best Actress next year.
(B) Suspended from Academy for some period of time.
(C) Lifetime suspension from Academy.
(D) Oscar for King Richard is rescinded.

Butkus51 said...

I believe that Gervais should host all award shows. But I wouldnt want to put him through that.

William said...

Andy Warhol had alopecia. I can't recall anyone making fun of his hair. Double standard? Andy Warhol simply wore a wig and didn't much talk about his alopecia. Double standard?...I don't think the most bizarre thing about the lives of either Andy Warohl or Jada Pinkett Smith is their alopecia.....Jada Pinkett Smith is a striking looking woman. I didn't pay that much attention to her. I didn't know she had alopecia. I thought she was trying to pull off a Nefertiti look. I thought she was a good looking woman who tried to distinguish herself from other good looking women by doing something extreme with her hair. I guess bad fashion gestures can still be mocked, but alopecia--which no one knew how to spell two days ago--is now verboten. Alopecia, mental retardation, obesity, pediatric cross dressers. Check your firearms before you enter Tombstone, because the penalty for packing heat is death.

Sydney said...

Ann Althouse said:
”Get all the jokes out ya fucking mouth, from now until the end of Hollywood."
Which won’t be long

From your mouth to God’s ear. Maybe something better would rise from the ashes.

William said...

In the Times, they did a recap of what the late night comedians said about Will Smith. They were surprisingly gentle. I would have thought that they would have been a lot more critical about such an insult. Will Smith attacked them where they made their living, but the criticism was muted. Jimmy Kimmel said that he could understand Will Smith's predicament: You either defended your wife's honor or become Ted Cruz....I'd like to see Ted Cruz come on his show and beat him to death with a tire iron. Go big or go home.

William said...

If Chris Rock hosts next year's Oscars, I would definitely tune in for the opening monologue....Perhaps a brief skit with Jada. Lucy, I'm home.

PM said...

6'2 189 vs 5'10 168.
Processing...
You motherfucker!

Joe Smith said...

Making fun of rich and powerful people will always be funny.

By your analysis, Smith just smacked the ratings out of the Oscars.

Most people are calling it the other way, so bold move.

I won't watch it either way so I'm not going to move the needle...

And what's with 'Ya mouth' or 'Yo mouth'?

His mom was a school administrator and his dad was a refrigeration engineer.

He grew up in a neighborhood of broad streets with leafy trees everywhere.

Distinctly not the 'hood.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Wilbur said...

Here's part of Kareem's insightful take:

"What would she [Jeanine Pirro] have said if Brad Pitt slapped Ricky Gervais?"


Probably nothing, but that would be because Pitt would have been escorted out of the venue and banned from the Oscars for life. If he would have even done such a thing.

Joe Smith said...

'Not without Carson decking them in response!'

Not without Carson making sure they never got even so much as a dishwashing job within 1,000 miles of Hollywood.

Talk about career killers...

Joe Smith said...

'Ricky Gervais is a treasure because he's among the few who don't give a crap about any of this. He says what's on his mind and it's often hilarious.'

The merger of talent and F.U. money.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Before the ceremony, Gervais was asked what he would say onstage if he were hosting the ceremony.

He tweeted: “I’d start with ‘Hello. I hope this show helps cheer up the ordinary people watching at home. If you’re unemployed for example, take some comfort in the fact that even if you had a job, your salary probably wouldn’t be as much as the goody bag all the actors have just been given'” … and then: “I’m proud to announce that this is the most diverse and progressive Oscars ever. Looking out I see people from all walks of life. Every demographic under the sun. Except poor people, obviously. Fuck them."

lol. I love thay guy.

loudogblog said...

On some level, I'm also offended by the responses to this event. Seeing people justify what Will Smith did is bad enough, but some people actually celebrated it. Plus, all these small web sites started posting up an article about an incident at the 1973 Academy awards that involved John Wayne being "restrained" from going out on stage and removing Sacheen Littlefeather during her speech about the mistreatment of Native Americans. It was like,"Will Smith did this bad thing at the Academy awards but here's a story about John Wayne doing a bad thing at the Academy awards, so that means that what Will did wasn't really that bad." No, that's now how it works. If someone does a bad thing, they did a bad thing. And it doesn't make it any better to say that someone else did a bad thing. It just means that two people did a bad thing. In all honesty, this is the kind of an argument that you might expect from a little child.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

(UGH to Joe's guest) bleck

Howard said...

Another sign of the End Times. Yeah right. For a group of people who Hollywood is run by feminized snowflake whiner libtards, It's stunning that you people are convinced that these pedophilic, moronical, shallow, soyboys hold the fate of the world in their hands.

Aggie said...

Smith behaved in a supremely unprofessional way, for someone who displays emotion for a living and is as successful as he has been as a star. It's entertaining to see the reportage tiptoe around the possible reasons and motivations. What are the likeliest ones?

That Pinkett Smith lost her hair because of too-tight cornrows left in too long? That these self-induced stupid fashion choices has her overly defensive, in a way that is unique to African-American women? That, as a middling unremarkable actress, she has been able to dominate her more-famous husband? That Smith is ashamed of an open marriage and its public consequences as the one who has been repeatedly horned? That Smith felt overwhelmed by the need to prove his manhood in a world where his actor's persona is marketed as Stong Cis-Male Leading Man and yet his immediate, toxic professional environment places him under constant attack? His later apology is just the frosting. It all points to this age-old cuckolded frustration.

farmgirl said...

The term is not: alopecia.

The term is: emasculation.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Howard - who said that? Oh right - the soiboy in your head.

DrSquid said...

I'd say Will Smith has wrapped up the starring role in the up-coming bio-pic "The Juwan Howard Story."

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

btw- - Why Is Meryl Streep allowed in to any award show? Shouldn't she be cancelled?
After all - she supports and has applauded harvey Weinstein.


Left Bank of the Charles said...

”Get all the jokes out ya fucking mouth, from now until the end of Hollywood.
Which won’t be long.”

It’s a $100 billion a year industry, more than half of which was not from selling theater tickets even before the pandemic.

Rusty said...

Butkus51 said...
"I believe that Gervais should host all award shows."
Nah. That was the perfect set. The perfect gags at the perfect audience at the perfect time. Never to be improved upon.
The looks on the faces of some of the celebrities is priceless.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Stephen Colbert made his name at the 2006 WH Correspondents Dinner mocking journalists for being too deferential to the president.

Now, 16 years and $150 million later, he demands journalists be more deferential to the President, says they should be slapped when confrontational:

[Stephen Colbert is angry Doocy is pointing out Biden's own words.]

@StephenAtHome: FNC’s Peter Doocy should be “slapped” for asking Biden to clarify his Russia comments

Watch this for clips of Biden's OWN WORDS

Anthony said...

"We're all going to die soon. And there's no sequel."

That's been my guiding Philosophy of Life for the last few years and it's a good one.

Michael K said...

It's stunning that you people are convinced that these pedophilic, moronical, shallow, soyboys hold the fate of the world in their hands.

No, the senile pervert in the White House does and it's thanks to your billionaire autistic types that he is there.

n.n said...

[Meryl Streep] supports and has applauded harvey Weinstein.

Oprah, too, was a right-hand woman of Weinstein. There are diverse reasons for why #MeToo progressed, including: friendly fire or toxic blowback was one, scapebabies another, and, of course, the internal, external, and mutual inconsistency of its actors and [religious] philosophy.

Valentine Smith said...

It's street all the way down. Number 2 after mom your woman you defend her honor. Especially after she drills daggers at your eyes. Mom first though especially if dad ain't around or rarely is. Saintly mom holding it all together penetrates the corners of the psyche. And the two of them elbow each other inside the head becoming indistinguishable.

If you're a black aristo you absolutely have to have street cred or the Black Matriarchy frowns then punishes then abandons an intolerable result. That right there is the source of identity.

Lurker21 said...

It may not have been fake, but to me it feels a little like it wasn't really real. Like it was all a performance and part of the show. We can all see what happened on YouTube, but it seems like things going on in the "real world" that weren't caught on film are more that this globally famous incident.

Why Is Meryl Streep allowed in to any award show? Shouldn't she be cancelled?
After all - she supports and has applauded harvey Weinstein.


Freedom of religion.

Harvey is her god.

KellyM said...

I read elsewhere last night that this is less about alopecia and more about the dire consequences of both tight braiding and hair weaves/extensions. Apparently the endless friction on the natural hair shafts - already weakened by relaxing chemicals - just causes the hair to disintegrate and it doesn't grow back the same way.

Narayanan said...

so, is the alopecia why she's a sleazy slut now? Is it compensation for being bald?
===========
does she still need a Brazilian? inquiring minds and all that

exhelodrvr1 said...

Is Degas code for "Will Smith"?

Aesop said...

Hey, remember when Bob Hope told Bogart that Lauren Bacall was a slut?
Oh, wait, that never used to happen at the Oscars, did it?

So maybe stop hiring jerks like Rock, and you won't see b***h-slaps like the one Smith delivered.

Rock was the problem. Smith was the cure.

Stop hiring the never-was C- and D-listers to carve up the A-listers for a cheap laugh, and see how that works out.

Ricky Gervais, hilarious though he was for the Golden Globes, which most of America, let alone Hollywood, ignores, was an anomaly, and top stars only show up for the Golden Globes out of contractual obligations, reflexive narcissism, and the need for foreign box office. Gervais made as much fun of his employer that night as he did of the stars in the audience, knowing he'd never be back. The ones present at Gervais' Last Night all looked like monkeys eating their own feces as he dished up their pretensions at them live on international TV.
The pity was that just raised the bar for Rock to have to vault, and Gervais is better at it than he was, as it turned out.

Maybe go back to find emcees to tell someone "good job" with a little class, and enjoy them looking grateful for recognition of what is one of the most collaborative efforts there are in the world (100-200 people on a film production crew, and 1500 people or more on a movie, in most cases), instead of preening and strutting like they're God's gift to mankind, if only for the novelty of the moment.

Just a thought.

Everybody wants to point out that Smith must've only done this because Rock is so much smaller.
No one wants to talk about what would have happened to someone if this had happened on the night Smith was nominated for Best Actor for Ali.
That would've been even better.

David Begley said...

Left Bank!

I don’t believe Wayne Newton.

David Begley said...

Maybe the best comments ever above on the Althouse blog. Brilliant.

Zev said...

They can still do the jokes, so long as the presenter has his taser ready.

d.k. said...

Brilliant summation.....

farmgirl said...

Aesop- idk whether you’re right or wrong.It doesn’t really matter to me since I don’t give 2shakes about the perfect people and their designer clothes and golden calves and salacious lives. Everyone is free to speculate.

1st world problem.
Boo. Hoo.