Jada Pinkett Smith announced an Oscars boycott earlier this year in the wake of #OscarsSoWhite. Many people complained that she was only boycotting because her husband Will was snubbed for Concussion, but even if that was the case she had a larger point that needed to be made. Will later admitted that Jada hadn’t run her announcement by him ahead of time, but said that he supported her and was proud of her, which was nice.
During his opening monologue at the Oscars, Chris Rock made a dig at Jada and her Oscars boycott. He said “Jada said she’s not coming. I was like, ‘Isn’t she on a TV show?’ Jada’s gonna boycott the Oscars? Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited!” That’s kind of gross as it’s not like 28 year-old Rihanna is interested in 51 year-old Rock but I guess that was his point. A paparazzo caught up with Jada Pinkett Smith at LAX to ask her about Rock’s joke. She had some decent things to say about how it comes with the territory.
“It comes with the territory, sweetheart,” she told photographers as she made her way through Los Angeles International Airport. “Hey look, it comes with the territory but we gotta keep it moving. We gotta keep it moving. We gotta keep it moving. There’s a lot of stuff we gotta handle, a lot of stuff in our world right now. We gotta keep it moving.”
You can see the video of this on E!. Jada is carrying what is possibly the biggest Hermes purse I’ve ever seen. I have serious purse envy, that thing would fit my laptop and all the miscellaneous junk I carry. E! also reminds us that Will Smith just smiled and made the peace sign when he was asked about Chris’s jokes about him.
Just for the record, this isn’t Jada’s default stance with the paparazzi. She doesn’t always take criticism lightly or blow it off when a photographer asks her about a scandal or issue with her family. Last year she went off when she was questioned about a social media photo of then 13 year-old Willow laying on a bed with a 20 year-old male actor who is a friend of the family. So this seems really calm coming from her, especially considering how some other celebrities have responded to being roasted during an awards show.
photos credit: PRPhotos, WENN and FameFlynet
I hate when people use endearments to strangers because the result is completely patronizing. Of course she doesn’t have much to say, because Chris Rock was right.
It depends. Where I’m from you casually call a complete stranger hon or sweetie without it meaning anything different than “Hey there.”
Ah, ok. I live in the north, and a “hon” or “sweetheart” will get you a dirty look, real fast. Not even my family members call each other that.
I live in the North too. Honey ,sweetie and sweetheart isn’t a big deal.
I’m from New York and I tend to do that. Just the other day a lady accidently bumped into me. She apologetically said I’m sorry and I responded by saying oh honey, it’s ok.
As for Chris being right that Jada wasn’t invited; indirectly she was. I think Will was invited to the Oscars and if he was invited it is safe to say that his wife would have been his plus one.
On a slightly different note British singer Anohni who was nominated for best song also decided to boycott the Oscars. It’s good to see Black women not afraid to tackle these kinds of issues even if they put themselves at risk of hurting their careers..
@V4Real “I think Will was invited to the Oscars and if he was invited it is safe to say that his wife would have been his plus one.”
What makes you think he was invited? And even if he was, nobody cares whether Jada attends or not.
@Laura I think he said he was in an interview. He made a joke that he didn’t go because it would have looked a little strange showing up with Charlize Theron on his arm and he supports his wife.
Oh and I’m sure no one cared whether Spike Lee attended or not either but he still boycotted. Maybe nobody cared whether Anohni attended either and her song was nominated but she still boycotted. Even if people opinions are that Jada made this about her at least it got people talking. Maybe Spike made it about him or Anohni made it about her but it got people talking. Look, I’m not a Jada fan but you go right ahead and keep on being dismissive of the real matter and dismissive of a Black Hollywood female actress who was not afraid to speak out.
Exactly he was right. Will was not an Oscar contender and Jada only cared when her husband was affected. Where was she last year? Oh that’s right no where.
Posted in wrong spot.
I kind of like it when strangers use terms of endearment. Reminds me of my old southern aunts.
Their egos are so hurt.
I am on record that I believed Jadas motivation to be selfish and somewhat disingenuous. In hindsight though her speaking up did elevate discussions beyond the hashtag of the day.
That being said If Chris wanted to call out Jada he did not have to go so low. This is my pet peeve with many black male comedians He basically pandered to his mainly white audience by punching down on the weakest target , Black women . Not only was that Jada joke in poor taste, he unnecessarily brought Riannah into it to and reduced her to her sexual organs and of course it was Grandma (not grandpa) swinging from the trees that brought some of the biggest laughs
Jada may not be your cup of tea, but she did not deserve such a low blow
Agreed. That joke from Chris Rock was incredibly poor taste.
I can’t stand her, sorry.
I really can’t stand her either but I thought the joke was problematic.
I can’t decide if I like her or not. I know Leann Rimes could benefit from lessons in being a step-parent from Jada.
Disappointed in Chris. Targeting her was easy. Actually finding a productive way to talk about these issues was apparently hard.
Because what makes me give Jada credit is she addressed it head on. No cute quips or using Asians as a prop. She signed her name to it and put her face on it and got endlessly dragged and mocked because of it. Because she dared to speak up.
As bad as it is for Chris now in a few months he’ll be fine. He’ll give his usual interviews. Crack a few jokes about those crazy white people and be right as rain.
Jada may lose out on jobs because of this. She’s definitely going to be an easy target because of this and instead of taking a nuanced approach to the situation Chris went for the easy shots and threw everyone else under the bus. What a waste of a platform.
Exactly. People can say what they want about the Smiths, but they put a face to a hashtag which moved it beyond a conversation.
Whether they did it for selfish reasons or not, at least they helped contribute to positive change.
This just proves that black women gain nothing by being outspoken, activists, political, feminist etc
They will just get mocked, berated, ridiculed, and hated.
If there is any advice I can give black women it is to be neutral. Don’t speak up for others like black men, white feminists/women,gays, lgbt in general, other people of color…just don’t. It is not worth it, trust me. At best you will get ridiculed and at worst you’ll just put a target on your back.
Jada Smith won’t lose any jobs. She wasn’t an in demand actress before the oscar controversy she won’t be after it.
Allathis. Exactly. Eternal, Marty and Nina you are speaking my thoughts.
@ESE I agree so much with your comment.
Those are all excellent points, ESE.
Sad and disappointing and true.
Yeah sweetheart keep it moving. Can’t run away fast enough from your boycott that turned into a joke in Chris Rock’s monologue. Your husband, whether he’s black or white can’t win all the prizes baby doll. Obviously I agree with Lex above, although I think it’s her arrogance and probably refers to most people in this fashion. Is there a term for small women that overcompensate like there is for small men with the Napoleon syndrome?!
That Chris joke about Rihanna is just skeevy…and he’s starting to remind me of billy crystal now…utterly boring
Right? That joke was so gross. You could boycott a lot of stuff regarding Rhinna – her Grammy nominations, her hosting an award show, blah, blah – but to go for panties is just stupid, boorish, and just lazy.
Well that response was …. Tepid. Where’s the fire now Jada?
Lotta stuff we gotta handle. Lotta stuff. Keep it moving. Keep it moving. Sounds like she’d just finished a marathon auditing session.
I’m surprised at the amount of hostility toward Jada in these comments. She saw an issue and spoke out. Isn’t that to be admired in celebrities?
I like her response. For ONCE she doesn’t sound like she’s looking for a fight.
(and ive been hearing her out for some time – used to like her unity messages for women and girls – but I feel she’s more hostile than unifying)
Frankly, I’m disappointed by the vitriol against Jada here. I’m no fan of Xenu’s 4 a.m. friend either but thought it was a bold & well-made statement to put her face & brand behind #Oscars so white. More power to Jada for speaking up.
Chris’s joke was gross. Gross.
Jada is not just attention-seeking for herself. She is trying to draw a spotlight onto an issue that needs a spotlight. She did that. She threw herself under a bus to get that attention. But people don’t like her, so she gets mocked.
God, people make me sick.
Chris Rock’s comment almost ruined the night for me. So ugly.
The great irony is that her boycotting brought the media attention in the early days of this issue and elevated it rapidly. Not sure it would have been as big without her. And I don’t even like her!