Closing arguments on the 2022 Oscar Awards Ceremony

The Friday Flashpoints!

Running off at the Android....

***Before giving my last words on the Oscars, I extend major kudos to my former University of Florida College of Law schoolmate Rhonda Peoples-Waters on being sworn in as the first Black woman County Judge in Duval County, Florida (Jacksonville)!!!

My fellow UF Law alums (from left) Latasha Garrison, Esq., Judge Rhonda Peoples-Waters, and LaFonda Gipson-Middleton, Esq.

A native of Selma, Alabama who attended Fisk University as an undergrad, Judge Peoples-Waters and I met in the Fall of 1996 and instantly became friends for life! Her journey to the judiciary is an inspiring story in that she sought a seat on the bench 17 times before winning a general election on the 18th!

A brilliant lawyer, I have no doubts that her Honor will be a wise jurist for many years to come! And while I was unable to attend her investiture yesterday due to severe thunder storms and tornados near Tallahassee, my thoughts remain with her and I pray for her continued success!

***I was able to catch Hollywood mogul Will "Power" Packer's interview with T.J. Holmes on ABC's Good Morning America and hear his perspectives on last Sunday's Oscar Awards ceremony that saw Will Smith win a Best Actor Award for King Richard shortly after slapping comedian Chris Rock on stage. 

Will Packer

Packer admitted that his entire week has been difficult because all of the hard work that he and his team put into the event has gone largely unmentioned due to the Smith/Rock incident. Packer confirmed:

1. Chris Rock went off script with his joke about G.I. Jane that was made at Jada Pinkett Smith's expense. For those unaware, G.I. Jane was a 1997 movie featuring Demi Moore playing an Army recruit whose hair is shaved bald. Jada Pinkett Smith has lost her hair due to alopecia in recent years, and has spoken freely about the pain of the disease and losing her locks. 

2. Packer, like many of us, thought that Smith and Rock were joking around and that he didn't know that it was an actual beef until he heard Smith cursing loudly from his seat after slapping Rock. 

3. Los Angeles Police Department officers arrived on the scene and were prepared to arrest Will Smith on sight, but Chris Rock insisted that he was “ok” and that he did not want to press charges. 

Now, I am a big believer in the notion that two or more things can be true at the same time, and for my closing arguments on the “slap heard 'round the world:”

A. A man, even a comedian, should tread lightly when directly insulting another man's wife. While I do not know whether Rock knew about Jada's disease, had he stayed on script and not taken it there, the ceremony would have proceeded as planned. 

B. Will Smith went from 0-100 swiftly and became as angry as a feral lion on stage. Defending his wife is his right to choose and always the chivalric route, but as I have written before, I wish that he had chosen to be chivalrous back stage or off camera. I state this because that slap ruined the moment for a number of performers, presenters, Will Packer and his production team and, finally, Serena, Venus, and "King Richard" Williams.

The Williams sisters on the red carpet prior to the 2022 Oscars…

***I have no doubts that Will Smith will be sanctioned by the acting governing boards, but I have argued all week that any discipline should be proportional to the offending act. In my Facebook post yesterday about the Hollywood elite seeking to cancel Smith, I wrote: "...the irony of veteran actress Mia Farrow calling Smith's slap 'Hollywood's most outrageous moment' on Twitter when her former spouse, Oscar winner Woody Allen, allegedly raped their 7-year-old child...just like Oscar winner Roman Polanski allegedly raped a 13-year-old child...just like Oscar winner Harvey Weinstein raped multiple grown women...just like Oscar winner John Wayne needed security guards to keep him from rushing the Oscars stage to assault Sacheen Littlefeather, the Apache woman who presented Marlon Brando's refusal to accept his Best Actor Award for The Godfather due to Hollywood's racist depictions of Native Americans..."

Yes, it seems that these Hollwyood elites have convenient amnesia when it comes to piling on Smith, including the fact that Russell Crowe allegedly spat on Azealia Banks in 2016 and called her a "n*gger,” but was never suspended by the SAG or prevented from making money. (Nota Bene: Crowe denied these events as did many of his friends at the party that was held in his hotel suite. But one Crowe friend and party attendee, RZA from the Wu-Tang clan, did confirm that Crowe picked up and threw an angry Banks out of the suite—and spat on her).

Russell Crowe allegedly assaulted Azealia Banks in 2016—and never skipped an acting beat…

As to possible Smith discipline, a confidential source who is a veteran Hollywood actor told me yesterday that a suspension of Will Smith's license would prevent him from using Screen Actor’s Guild employees, be it actors or production folks, even if he wanted to self finance films—not to mention that the distribution chain would probably ice his work until a suspension is served.

So, the stakes are dire for Smith and while I expect some punishment to be meted out, I remind that under criminal laws, his offense (battery) is only a misdemeanor, while the offenses of other Hollywood rapists and racists were felonies (rape) or hate crimes (spitting while using the n-word).

Thus, the punishment should not exceed the offense!

***As for those wanting to see Will Smith banned for life, the old quiz bowl player and trivia buff in me just read on my Morehouse Brother David Mitchell's Facebook post that, "In its 94-year history, the Academy has expelled only five members: Carmine Caridi (Copyright infringement of over 60 movies), Harvey Weinstein (multiple rapes and sexual assaults), Bill Cosby (multiple rapes and sexual assault), Roman Polanski (rape of 13-year-old girl), and cinematographer Adam Kimmel (statutory rape).

From that list alone, Smith should be able to avoid an expulsion, but there's a part of me that believes that the public relations apology that he issued on Monday was not nearly enough if he is worried about impressing those who will determine his fate, nor was it as powerful as cutting on his phone and uploading a video to Instagram! On the other hand, if he doesn't care what the governing board decides, then the form apology from his handlers may be as far as he takes it…

Last year, the Smiths sat for a “Red Table Talk” to discuss Jada's relationship with singer August Alsina while the couple was separated. The street committee is saying that the Smiths are planning another talk on Jada's Facebook platform to address the scene made at the Oscars…

***While I find some fault in both Chris Rock (insult) and Will Smith's (slap) conduct last Sunday night, I have to admit that my respect for Rock grew when he chose not to press charges. While I take no pride in it, I have been in a few adult scraps (self-defense or defense of others) and I have never, ever, ever considered pressing charges against another man for assaulting me first! Such is why I’m glad to see that Rock holds similar views to most Brothas on that point.

Last, as an occasional former scrapper 😆, I noticed that Smith's slap didn't ‘even much’ knock Rock off of his base; had he chosen, Rock could have rocked Smith's left jaw with a right cross because Smith left his defenses wide open.

Rock had a clear path to the left side of Smith's face after he was slapped, but remained calm, cool, and collected…

Again, to my amazement, Rock got slapped, held his composure, and kept right on with the show in a way that most Brothas that I know would not have been able to do…

***Now, on to some real fighting and a war in Ukraine that is entering into its third calendar month. I am still astonished that the allegedly powerful Russian Army is being whipped by a smaller Ukrainian Army!

Ukrainian soldiers on the move against the Russian invaders…

In February, retired U.S. Army General Ben Hodges gave a lecture at Tallahassee Community College during the first week of the war and said that an American military force of nearly 30,000 troops was more than enough to repel a Russian attack into Germany or other NATO nations. I sat there that day wondering whether the general was just boasting but, several weeks later, I now believe his words that in a conventional war setting, that the U.S. military would soundly defeat the Russians. 

Then again, I also note that conventional fighting would never take place if that scenario occurred, because Mad Man Putin would unleash nuclear Hell to save face… 

***To be clear, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas needs to resign, as the more we learn about his wife's official role in the January 6th MAGA riots, the worse his single dissenting vote (8-1) regarding the congressional committee investigating the matter looks like an abuse of power amid a horrid conflict of interest!

The Thomas family laughing it up, but will Congressional judicial impeachment managers have the last laugh? Stay tuned…

If you are wondering who Ginni Thomas is and why she and her husband are behaving bizarrely, check out the following article and YouTube video to better understand how deep down in the sunken place Ginni Thomas—and, ostensibly, her husband Clarence—are when it comes to their cult like fealty to former President Donald Trump.

Thank you for subscribing to the Point—have a wonderful weekend!