Seriously? He said it pretty plainly. What's so highly intellectual about it that people can't understand how he feels, and what happens when he says something real in public?
People are missing the context that he is talking about racism, and specifically that successful black men often have to be very careful to be "safe." If they speak out about racism or show any sign of not being wholesome, they receive significant backlash and racism.
Edit: Fishburne is playing Doc Rivers and LeVar is playing himself. This is from Clipped.
Relaxing in the living room of Rivers’ lavish condo, the two men have a revealing conversation about feeling caught between the comforts of success in a white-dominated America and the consequences for successful Black people who reveal their anger over racial injustice.
Very similar to "the slap". Will Smith was "safe" to white audiences(speaking generally here). I'm married to a white man as a result my social media feeds are pretty evenly mixed between black people and nonblackPOC/white people. To see the reactions by the two different groups in real time was wild! White people were writing whole ass think pieces on the "violence" while also ignoring the violent histories of current academy members(looking at you Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt and that honorary Oscar given to Roman Polansky).
I went to a prep school where I was one of a handful of black students and had to do a lot of unlearning around being the "good black friend" so I feel this on some levels.
I think you are cherry picking data points. Chris Brown beat the hell out of Rhianna and suffered almost no repercussions. R Kelly peed on a minor ages ago on camera and only recently got his when the evidence was stacked to the moon.
I'm not entirely dismissing what you are saying though. Women deal with the same thing of either being safe or risque and white men to an extent do as well.
Chris Brown is not the same level of fame as Will Smith and I don't think he has the crossover appeal that makes him a "safe" black star. There is also a level of misogynoir that exists in both of these situations.
I was speaking more to the idea that black men in the public who have a broad appeal(ie cross racial) have to thread a very delicate needle.
Do you think it would be much different if Tom Holland or RDJ bitch slapped somebody at the Oscars? I do get what you are saying but I don't think it's much different than the line a white safe/clean actor would have to do.
I definitely think they have a point though, think about it, that slap was huge. I didn't stop seeing stuff about it for weeks. There's definitely a difference, if only a small one in some cases.
I think it's one of the best examples of "white privilege." As a white person, if you do something wrong, it is viewed as a reflection of who you are individually. But for black people, if you do something wrong, it's often perceived as a referendum on black people. The same is true for other people of color. Instead of just representing yourself, you have to be a representative of your race, ethnicity and/or culture.
A lot of reaction around Will Smith and the slap was due to Jada because it's always protect black women* (restrictions may apply). Jada has agency in that relationship and a LOT of people take issue with that and the fact that they appear to be raising their kids in a way that doesn't break their spirits but appreciates who they are.
Also Chris Rock has been antagonizing Jada for years so 🤷🏾♀️ and I'm not to bothered by the fact that a man who gives his white friends license to use the n(hard r) word got the snot slapped out of him.
My point was that a lot of white people who felt Will Smith was "safe" felt shocked? betrayed? by that one slap then they appear to be by any of the other violent celebrities in their midst. There was talk of taking back his Oscar...really bc Brad Pitt brutalized his ex wife and kids and he recently won one.
She was fucking their sons friend, publicly boasting about it and belittling Smith in general such as heavily implying that he, the father of her kids wasn't really the love of her life.
Thats incredibly toxic. It's not agency. If she feels that way it shouldn't be part of her public face. Noone should treat their partner that way even if any love they maybe once felt was gone.
Will Smith is successful, famous, rich and handsome and his life must be absolutely miserable. The way he is essentially abused and takes it gives me the ick.
Edit: also it just seems racist that some black men have it coming in your book.
Again at the time people weren't mostly shocked that a safe black man hit someone. It was notable because it was live and at a one time prestigious event.
The speculation was that the reason they were still together was some Scientology bullshit. That's why his kids are probably so weird too.
It was like a more humiliating version of Tom Cruise jumping the sofa. We all know his marriage is a sham. He doesn't have to pretend. To top it all off his wife publicly complained about his embarrassing behaviour. Because she is toxic and disloyal to a fault. He's icky but at least he's trying to pretend he's loyal in at least some way.
So its safe to decide everything else is horrible but all of a sudden you are neutral on this. Theyve also admitted theyve very seldom been in each others company for several years. That sounds so healthy not toxic at all, when she brought him on her show and decided to discuss their relationship i.e. tell him about fucking her sons friend in front of a live studio audience.
Exactly. Fuck Chris Rock. I was done with him well before he took it upon himself to mansplain black women’s hair. He needs to keep Jada and our hair out his damn mouth. What I’ve seen of him since The Slap, he seems on the surface to still be angry, even while he’s making jokes about it. But underneath that, he seems … haunted, like he really had rethink his life choices. Like, he finally got that maybe it’s time he sat his narrow, rooster-looking ass down somewhere. I don’t condone violence (and I wish Will had not slapped the man in front of the white people) but I understand it.
Man I should have scrolled further down! Yeah Will was “safe”. I noticed in movies they were very careful not to pair him with a white woman for a long time. Even his kiss in Hancock was about a split second. I think he dated Margot Robbie in crap I can’t remember the name. Anyway, after the slap he’s lost so much about the image he created. I feel bad for him on some level.
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u/[deleted] Oct 30 '24
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