Oscars Celebs Display Despicable Behavior Following Ceremony: What You Definitely Missed Following Will Smith Slap
Hollywood is Horrible
We Are All Dramatically Bored by The Slap
Daniel Radcliffe is right to be “dramatically bored” by the Will Smith Slap discourse now, nearly a week later. We all are, and that leaves space to talk about the plight of everyday Americans and how the elite step on them with hypocritical smiles on their faces. No matter where you land on what Smith did, Hollywood has an underbelly stars would rather not acknowledge – Including some despicable glitterati behavior on the Sunset Strip following this year’s 94th annual Academy Awards ceremony, and it’s time to name names.
Hollywood, as it turns out, isn’t as perfect as they try to make it seem. Some of that messiness seeped through on the screen this past Sunday – the rest was hidden from view.
In case you’ve been living in a cave (this sounds like a good option at the moment), 2022 Best Actor winner Will Smith received a standing ovation less than an hour after his surprise assault on presenter Chris Rock after the comedian made a GI Jane joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.
Smith, who was asked by the Academy to leave the ceremony following The Slap but declined, has so far received nothing but publicity for his film King Richard, though consequences may come (Chris Rock declined to press charges). Update 4/1/22: Will Smith has resigned from the Academy).
Oscar’s Hidden History
The Slap is just one example of Hollywood derangement in a long line of them:
Hattie McDaniel
In 1940, the first Black Oscar winner, Hattie McDaniel, a star of Gone With the Wind, was nearly not even allowed into the ceremony. Even when she was, she had to sit at a segregated table.
Photo: Wikipedia
Sacheen Littlefeather/Marlon Brando, John Wayne/Clint Eastwood
It’s been 50 years since Marlon Brando won an Oscar for The Godfather and refused to accept the award in protest of Hollywood’s treatment of Native Americans, sending actress Sacheen Littlefeather in his place to prove a point – Hollywood is extremely f*cked up. John Wayne then tried to attack her as she left the stage and she was mocked by Clint Eastwood to great laughter.
Harvey Weinstein
Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein was awarded over and over again throughout the years, despite it being a long-held and very open secret that he is a rapist.
Photo: Wikipedia
Woody Allen
Multiple Oscar award winner and accused child sex abuser Woody Allen is defended wholeheartedly by the likes of Diane Keaton, Javier Bardem, Alec Baldwin, Gina Gershon, and Blake Lively.
Photo: Wikipedia
Roman Polanski
Convicted child rapist Roman Polanski won an Oscar for Best Director for The Pianist, receiving a standing ovation in absentia. In absentia, because, well, he’s a child rapist and had escaped the country.
Photo: Wikipedia
This is by no means an exhaustive list of terrible things that have happened at The Oscars and terrible people who’ve been awarded and celebrated.
EmRata, Kim K, Michael B. Jordan, Mindy Kaling, Questlove, and More Cross Picket Line for Jay-Z Gold Party
There’s been some important discourse surrounding the Will Smith Slap – but so much has gotten lost. Celebrity on celebrity violence isn’t the most egregious thing that happened that night.
Despite there being a healthy amount of Oscar’s activism over the years, including a truly baller move by Jack Nicholson to protest against the Iraq war in 2003 (he wanted Best Actor nominees to stay home). The reality is that few celebs are willing to give up the limelight or a glittery, hard-to-come-by party ticket to stick to the values they purport to have.
Jay-Z’s Oscar Gold party took place at the famed hotel Chateau Marmont on the Sunset Strip, which holds Hollywood’s history in its walls. The problem? Mr. Carter and friends knew there was an ongoing labor union picket by its workers, led by the UNITE HERE Local 11 hospitality union. He could have chosen any number of other venues for his party, but declined.
Hotelier André Balazs laid off the majority of the Chateau’s employees at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and didn’t provide severance packages or health insurance. There are also allegations of racial discrimination and sexual misconduct.
Some of Hollywood has boycotted the Chateau in solidarity with workers. This includes:
Gabrielle Union
Issa Rae
Samira Wiley
Robin Thede
Quinta Brunson
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Roxane Gay
Ashely Nicole Black
Adam McKay
David Sirota
Casey Affleck
LaKeith Stanfield
Being the Ricardos production
The Offer production
Writers Guild of America–West
Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California
These celebs crossed the picket line to party:
Janelle Monáe
Saweetie
Emily Ratajkowski
Daniel Kaluuya
Kim Kardashian
Timothée Chalamet
Michael B. Jordan
Mindy Kaling
Tiffany Haddish
Tyler Perry
Zoe Kravitz
Questlove
Jay-Z
Rihanna
DJ Khaled
Khloe Kardashian
*** Rosario Dawson attended the party after 1 am when the picket line had ended and expressed her disappointment in the working conditions the following morning on Twitter.
Celebs: “Let Them Eat Cake!”
The ills of Hollywood don’t end there. There have been reports of L.A. clearing out the homeless before ceremonies so millionaires aren’t offended by reality. Most of the 200 houseless residents swept from Echo Park last year (for separate reasons) have yet to find long-term housing.
Strippers at Star Garden in North Hollywood are currently protesting against mistreatment, unwarranted firings, unsafe conditions, and harassment. It would be so easy for a Hollywood Star, any Star at all, to bring awareness to their plight and that of so many in the working class.
Celebrities aren’t expected to address every single issue on earth. But it really says something when they walk right by picketing workers whose efforts hardly make news. The Oscars can be a great escape away from the many things wrong in the world, but those with a platform (especially those who claim to be “woke”), as these stars have, can and should do better. For better or worse, people look to and pay attention to celebrities.
It’s easy to say it was a “product of the times” when John Wayne attempted to attack a Native American woman for politely asking for Hollywood to treat her the right way. Or that we need to separate the art from the artist when it comes to awarding the little gold man to convicted scum like Harvey Weinstein and Roman Polanski. But, here we are in 2022. The Slap was shocking and we all couldn’t help but talk about it, for a time.
The question is, why aren’t we all also talking about the plight of workers at Chateau Marmont and Star Garden? Why aren’t we talking about the reasons SoCal grocery workers have voted to strike?
The outrage and take machine is churning steadily, as it does. But it’s time for all of us, and for Hollywood, to make sure we don’t forget history and humanity. The Slap wasn’t the worst thing to ever happen at the Oscars. Losing a job or a spot to lay one’s head is the worst thing to ever happen to so many.
Hollywood, we pay attention to you, for better or worse, because we all need to escape sometimes. It’s time you did your part. Don’t ever cross the picket line.
Great stuff Jenn!!