Talk show host Bill Maher has compared Will Smith’s slapgate scandal at the Oscars to that of an attack on freedom of speech.
Bill Maher Compares Will Smith’s Slapgate Incident To Cancel Culture-‘Comedians Have Been Under Attack For Some Time’
Will has rightly received mass condemnation on social media after he lashed out at Chris Rock simply because the latter had made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss. Will’s attack was part of a wider problem in which political correctness/oversensitivity was going too far.
In a segment on his show, Bill said: “Comedians have been under attack for some time. So I must defend my tribe. This war on jokes must end. [The Joke] wasn’t an alopecia joke, any more than the chicken crossing the road is about bird flu.”
But it was not just the joke that Bill felt Will should have put up with. He also called out the actor’s initial reaction to the whole incident. Prior to Will actually getting up and slapping Chris, the cameras had caught him initially finding the joke funny.
But once it became clear that his wife was not too pleased about the whole thing, that is when Will decided to react. And for Bill, he likened it to cancel culture where unless you conform to what others are feeling, then there is a chance of serious pushback.
He added: “Before this moment, Will is laughing because he hasn’t yet found out that his original, genuine reaction is wrong, and that he should conform to a different view.” The fans on social media resonated with what Bill had to say.
A certain subset of people felt that freedom of speech was seriously under attack, all of which would make comedians second guess their material knowing that perhaps they could be attacked. And this would ultimately go against the very spirit of comedy. One person wrote: “Agreed. Gen Z can’t take a joke now.”
It will be fascinating to see how this incident affects the comedy circuit going forward. So there you have it folks. What did you think about all of this? If you liked reading this article, then check out our other features on the Daily Soap Dish.
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