Will Smith Uncensored at the Oscars....

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BoSoxGal
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Re: Will Smith Uncensored at the Oscars....

Post by BoSoxGal »

ex-khobar Andy wrote:
Fri Apr 01, 2022 12:34 am
that moment was even more disgusting that Smith's assault.
Nope. Words are not worse than violence.


I agree that it was classless of Rock to not read all the winners’ names. I also hope that he was still very rattled when he did it - really, how could he not be?
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
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Gob
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Re: Will Smith Uncensored at the Oscars....

Post by Gob »

Put them in a ring, 10 rounds, winner decided by knock out or points.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”

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Re: Will Smith Uncensored at the Oscars....

Post by ex-khobar Andy »

À propos of all this, I do have a question for our legal beagles. Without going into the rights and wrongs, LAPD said they would not charge Smith with assault because Rock did not want to press charges. At what point is it up to the victim to decide? There were plenty of witnesses so they did not, presumably, need his testimony. Obviously some crimes the victim does not decide whether to press charges - murder being the obvious example - and 'society' (whatever that is) makes the decision. Could LAPD or the local DA make the choice to prosecute regardless of Rock's cooperation? Is there a cutoff - say felonies vs misdemeanors - and is it the sort of thing that varies between jurisdictions?

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BoSoxGal
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Re: Will Smith Uncensored at the Oscars....

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Crimes of violence against the person don’t require a victim’s consent to prosecute - the most obvious being murder.

Absolutely the LA County prosecutor has the discretion to file charges and proceed without Chris Rock’s urgent participation. He could be subpoenaed to testify and would have to do so or face contempt of court charges. The video and millions of witnesses certainly make it as close to a slam dunk case as exists.

I’ve attended several trainings on prosecuting violence crime cases without the cooperation of the primary witness/victim. Sometimes these cases involve very young children that a court may refuse to accept testimony from, but most often they are domestic violence cases where the victim/witness is either reluctant or outright uncooperative. These cases CAN be successfully prosecuted despite non-cooperating victim/witness, but far too often the prosecution office drops or nolle prosequi such cases rather than deal with the complications and extra degree of difficulty they present. It’s a persistent problem within the system and one which allows abusers to continue abusing with impunity.

The current LA County prosecutor is under fire for being a very progressive, bail reform oriented type prosecutor in the midst of rising crime rates and a homelessness epidemic so I doubt he’s going to grab at the controversy this case would involve, even though it would be the right example to set for the community and especially youth in the community.

I would have total respect for Will Smith if he called the prosecutor himself, asked to be cited and asserted his intention to plead guilty. It’s only misdemeanor battery, the fines are like coins in the couch cushions to Smith and he would be unlikely to spend even an hour in custody. He could do violence prevention work for his community service. If he does that, I’ll watch his movies again.
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Sue U
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Re: Will Smith Uncensored at the Oscars....

Post by Sue U »

BoSoxGal wrote:
Sun Apr 03, 2022 9:19 pm
I would have total respect for Will Smith if he called the prosecutor himself, asked to be cited and asserted his intention to plead guilty. It’s only misdemeanor battery, the fines are like coins in the couch cushions to Smith and he would be unlikely to spend even an hour in custody. He could do violence prevention work for his community service. If he does that, I’ll watch his movies again.
That's an excellent suggestion. You should run it by his agent -- really, someone should. (He's represented by CAA.)
GAH!

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Re: Will Smith Uncensored at the Oscars....

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Sue/BSG--if you were his attorney, would you suggest or endorse that? I wouldn't unless he felt it was something he wanted to do (which I seriously doubt) or he obtained some advantage from it (which I really don't see now). I can't see how paying a fine (or even doing community service) would be to his advantage (unless, of course, the DA chose to prosecute for a more serious charge); if his agent felt something like this would be in his interest, I would suggest publicly agreeing to take an anger management course, and maybe voluntarily agreeing to working for violence prevention (PSAs, etc.). Having even a misdemeanor conviction on his record is not in his interest.

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Re: Will Smith Uncensored at the Oscars....

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Will Smith is not the average criminal client. From a branding standpoint it could be very much in his interest to take that kind of ownership of his actions because right now his brand is taking a big hit - major projects on hold after the incident and producers and other big brands like Apple wondering whether they should risk association with him. He’s already worth $350 million so he isn’t going to hurt if he stops working right now and he sure isn’t going to feel any of the negative effects of a minor criminal conviction. It’s more about how much he cares about his reputation and whether it will bother him that he’s shattered it with millions of fans.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
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Re: Will Smith Uncensored at the Oscars....

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Maybe, but I think Smith honestly believes he was justified with what he did; sure, he can mouth carefully crafted apologies and run around saying "mea culpa", but it's all acting. Add to that the fact that most Hollywood producers and other potential "employers" only care if he will sell (from films to iphones to whatever) and I think it would probably be just as good for him to voluntarily seek treatment (for a problem he doesn't believe he has) than for a guilty plea. Sure, a minor conviction might not really burden him that much, and he might even get a conditional dismissal, but I wouldn't waste my only chance at such first offender diversions on this case. Given his personality, I would not be surprised if he is eventually facing a much more serious charge and would wish he had that chance then.

Yes, I'm sure he has lost some fans, but, like Trump, his bad boy behavior has probably brought some new fans and make some of his current fans more avid. And whatever he does, is not likely to win back fans because he pleaded guilty rather than just voluntarily submitted to treatment and worked to repair his image. I doubt many would believe either was any much more than a publicity stunt.

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Re: Will Smith Uncensored at the Oscars....

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I agree with BSG on this one, and if I were his lawyer (or agent or image consultant) I would highly recommend it; it's an opportunity for Smith to both rehabilitate and burnish his brand. From his rapper days in West Philly and throughout his career he has always been a role model; this incident has seriously called that status into question. A guilty plea with conditional discharge on completion of community service would mean there's not even a conviction on his record. And directing that service into a positive ongoing program could be a pretty good marketing plan.
GAH!

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Re: Will Smith Uncensored at the Oscars....

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Sue I nominate you to forward our suggestion to Smith’s people. Have our people call Smith’s people.;)
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
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Re: Will Smith Uncensored at the Oscars....

Post by ex-khobar Andy »

Having seen his initial reaction to Rock's 'joke' - and it was far from a joke - he's all about the image which is hardly surprising given his profession. I'm pretty sure there will be a calculation - will I lose more fans than I gain by doing something like that?

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Re: Will Smith Uncensored at the Oscars....

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Sue and BSG; you both have much more experience in criminal law than I do, so you may well be right. My only concern with a condiitional discharge is that one can only get it for one first offense, and I think he may well have more brushes with the law in the future. I don't know if a charge as minor as this is likely to be would be worth using up that chance.

And face it, despite of all his mea culpa breast beating, he doesn't believe he did anything wrong so whatever he does is just lip service. He'll do whatever makes economic sense, but let's not believe he thinks he was wrong.

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