This event , concerning Will Smith and a Ukranian reporter, took place. by AURaptor

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

This event , concerning Will Smith and a Ukranian reporter, took place.

POSTED BY: AURAPTOR
UPDATED: Thursday, May 24, 2012 12:49
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VIEWED: 1684
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 11:57 AM

America loves a winner!

Quote:
Ukrainian huckster in the news after sneak attack Will Smith kiss

Yesterday PopWatch brought you the viral video of a stunned Will Smith giving a Ukrainian reporter a little smack after the man went in for a sloppy kiss at the Men In Black III Moscow premiere.

Some of the comments were outraged, with accusations against Smith ranging from homophobia to ignorance of European cultural etiquette. PopWatch’s revelation that the hand-checked man in question was Vitalii Sediuk, a semi-notorious snickerer of a TV journalist who is known for such stunts.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 12:19 PM

WHOZIT

He should have punched him in his commie face, if anyone was assalted it was Smith.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 12:32 PM

OONJERAH

He reacted to it . . . appropriately.

. . .I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. ~Charles R Swindoll

If I have to react to others all the time, then they own my mind more than I do.
If I let others tell me how to feel, I lose my ability to choose happiness.
If I let others tell me who I am, I've vacated self-definition.
Finally, I realized how foolish I was to give others such power over me.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 1:10 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

I know it's custom for some to kiss each other on the cheek in that part of the world.

Was WS being homophobic ? Or 'dissing' the Russian culture ? Or was he responding appropriately to a jerk who was trying to pull a Sacha Baron Cohen style stunt ?

" We're all just folk. " - Mal

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

"The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 2:43 PM

OONJERAH

ETR: Edited to remove comment.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 4:12 PM

PHOENIXROSE

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Was WS being homophobic ?

He didn't enjoy a complete stranger trying to kiss him. I don't see how that's homophobic. If he'd smacked the guy for kissing some other guy in front of him, that would be homophobic. Responding to someone violating your boundaries and/or personal space is just... not wanting your boundaries violated.

Quote:
Or 'dissing' the Russian culture ?

I doubt that was his intent. It may have come off as insulting to some people who live there, but I doubt his thought was, "Oh, hey, this is a really good opportunity for me to insult this culture, so I'll do that." His thought was clearly, "This guy I don't know just put his mouth on me. That's not cool," and he had a reflexive response to lash out a little bit. I would probably do the same thing if a guy I didn't know tried to kiss me.

Quote:
Or was he responding appropriately to a jerk who was trying to pull a Sacha Baron Cohen style stunt ?

Basically. It might have been better if he'd just stepped back and put his arm out to keep the guy from invading his bubble again, but reflexes don't tend to work that way.

What reason had proved best ceased to look absurd to the eye, which shows how idle it is to think anything ridiculous except what is wrong.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 4:32 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

PR - My point was that Will was cool with the hug from the guy, a stranger, but the kiss on the cheek crossed the line.

Bro hugs are ok, but once strangers ( men, in this case ) start putting lips on faces... Nyet. If the reporter was some cute little Nadia, I doubt Will would have cared 1 iota.

" We're all just folk. " - Mal

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

"The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 7:35 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht

I agree with Phoenix, he acted on reflex when his personal space was violated, it probably didn't involve much annalysis or consideration. I wouldn't want some reporter I don't know, of either sex, kissing me either.

I assume you're my pal until you let me know otherwise.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 8:05 PM

PHOENIXROSE

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Bro hugs are ok, but once strangers ( men, in this case ) start putting lips on faces... Nyet. If the reporter was some cute little Nadia, I doubt Will would have cared 1 iota.

You may be right, though I don't think you are. However, not wanting a kiss from a man also doesn't make him homophobic.
A lot of men probably wouldn't even be okay with bro hugs from strangers, but celebrities usually have to acclimate themselves to fans wanting to hug them. Generally, this doesn't lead to kisses, except perhaps a peck on the cheek. Going for someone with your mouth open is a somewhat more aggressive move. Maybe he wouldn't have minded if an attractive lady had done the same thing, but it's possible that move would have weirded him out no matter who was doing it.
Example: Replace the male reporter with a female one, pulling the exact same move. That is, going for a sloppy, open-mouthed kiss in a somewhat aggressive way (which is how I personally saw the behavior.) Now, maybe she wouldn't have gotten the little slap, but she may have been shoved away. In fact, I think it likely she would have been shoved away. If a woman was less aggressive - say, puckering her lips up rather than opening her mouth and going for it - then he might not have minded at all, might even have given her a little kiss. But that isn't what happened here, and I doubt that anyone would appreciate a stranger of any gender coming at them with an open mouth. (Again, I certainly wouldn't.)
Example two: Replace Will Smith with a female celebrity. Let's say, Christina Hendricks. Would it be inappropriate for her to push away or give a little slap to a stranger (in this case, a man) who hugged her and then went for an open-mouthed kiss? Would it make her, I dunno, heterophobic to respond in such a way? No, of course not, she just doesn't want a stranger putting his mouth on her. This is completely understandable. Again, I would feel the same way.
Example three: Replace both parties with females. Would it make a woman homophobic to pull away/shove a woman - a stranger - who was trying to kiss her? Again, exact same body language, with an open mouth rather than a friendly peck. Would such response be unreasonable? No. The slap might still be considered a little bit much, but aggressive body language makes people want to respond with aggression. Of course it would be best to just step back, but saying anyone is out of line for not wanting a stranger to kiss them? No, that's not out of line.
I would likely respond in a similar fashion to similar behavior from someone I didn't know. I like men, and I like women, and I like kisses, and none of that means I want anyone, of any gender, who I've never met before, trying to plant one on me. Even if they were good-looking, it wouldn't be okay with me. It's not a question of sexuality, for me, it's a question of boundaries and personal space. If I don't know you, and like you, I don't want your mouth on me. Being attracted to men doesn't mean I want physical affection from all men, and being attracted to women doesn't mean I want physical affection from all women. I don't understand why that would even be a question.

What reason had proved best ceased to look absurd to the eye, which shows how idle it is to think anything ridiculous except what is wrong.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 8:13 PM

OONJERAH

Quote PR: "it's a question of boundaries and personal space. . . . I don't understand
why that would even be a question."

^ Exactly.

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 1:46 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

I guess I'm not getting what you mean by 'personal space' then. Will was fine w/ the hug, which is as close as one can get before things get intimate, but the reporter clearly took it a step further. Maybe it was the unexpectedness of the kiss that caught Will off guard,and triggered the reaction.

I find it curious, that in your first example, you seemed to equate a woman reporter going for an open mouth kiss to a guy reporter who merely gave Will a peck on the cheek.

" We're all just folk. " - Mal

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

"The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 4:37 AM

KWICKO

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)

Quote:
I guess I'm not getting what you mean by 'personal space' then. Will was fine w/ the hug, which is as close as one can get before things get intimate, but the reporter clearly took it a step further. Maybe it was the unexpectedness of the kiss that caught Will off guard,and triggered the reaction.

Call it an unexpected, unwelcome advance. If a guy goes in for a hug on a woman, and then tries to drop a kiss on her without any warning, without knowing her at all, then would she be out of line to smack him one?

It may be the custom there, but Will apparently didn't get the memo, or didn't hire a person to keep him up to speed on protocol and cultural customs.

I don't find it particularly homophobic.

"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence [sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero

"I've not watched the video either, or am incapable of intellectually dealing with the substance of this thread, so I'll instead act like a juvenile and claim victory..." - Rappy

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 7:50 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Didn't respond to this one earler, as I took it for yet another of Raptor's "Hey! Look at ME!" threads. But what the hell:

Point One: "Vitalii Sediuk, a semi-notorious snickerer of a TV journalist who is known for such stunts".

Point Two: "A lot of men probably wouldn't even be okay with bro hugs from strangers, but celebrities usually have to acclimate themselves to fans wanting to hug them."

Point Three: "It may be the custom there, but Will apparently didn't get the memo, or didn't hire a person to keep him up to speed on protocol and cultural customs." As far as I know, kissing on the cheek is NOT a Russian custom, it's a European one...mostly French and Italian, so that can't be used as an excuse. See Point One.

I caught Will saying "what the hell is your problem?!" by the way, which is pretty appropriate.

"Homophobic" my ass!

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 8:06 AM

OONJERAH

Next Thread: Can a Homophobe Function & Succeed in Hollywood? Find out now!

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 8:38 AM

PHOENIXROSE

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
I find it curious, that in your first example, you seemed to equate a woman reporter going for an open mouth kiss to a guy reporter who merely gave Will a peck on the cheek.

Didn't look like a peck on the cheek to me. When I think of "peck on cheek" it usually involves lips being puckered out until they're clearly visible and then placed lightly on someone's face. Looked to me like the guy had his mouth a bit open, and the kisses were not light ones, and he was holding on to Smith in order to keep him in place. Smith also said "he tried to kiss me on my mouth." Maybe he misinterpreted, and the guy was just going for the kiss on either side of the face, but maybe he was right about what was happening, and only his abrupt turn is what put the second kiss on his cheek. He was there and we weren't, and it looks pretty plausible to me that this guy was trying to somewhat forcibly plant a kiss on Smith. All the examples I postulated used that same scenario, you'll notice.

Quote:
I guess I'm not getting what you mean by 'personal space' then.

I repeatedly said "personal space and boundaries." Do you really not understand how a kiss can violate boundaries when a hug doesn't? Personal space involves what someone's boundaries are just as much as the actual space around them. Walking in a large crowd may technically mean you have no personal space, but as long as everyone keeps their hands to themselves, there's not violation of personal space happening, because the boundaries are adjusted for being in a crowd. When you're a celebrity, personal space might not extend to friendly hugs from strangers; your boundaries have adjusted for fan interaction, but having their mouths on you would still be a violation of personal space because it's a violation of boundaries. It's a pretty simple concept of human interaction. I have to presume you're being deliberately obtuse about this, but I can't imagine why.

What reason had proved best ceased to look absurd to the eye, which shows how idle it is to think anything ridiculous except what is wrong.

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 8:56 AM

STORYMARK

Nothing homophobic. Dude tried to kiss him on the mouth, univited - its what he deserved.

And no, he wasn't going for the cheek - that reporter's gimmick is kissing everyone he interviews on the mouth.

"Goram it kid, let's frak this thing and go home! Engage!"

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 9:57 AM

OONJERAH

Will Smith Laughs Off Kissing-Reporter Incident =>
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1685637/will-smith-kissing-reporter-r
ed-carpet.jhtml

Smith talked out the encounter at the event, and the man in black added, "I don't know.
... They were [like] 'We're sorry, you know, it's just his shtick.' and I said, 'That's
why his ass got shtuck.' "

"Men in Black 3" opens May 25, just in time for Memorial Day weekend. MTV News recently
caught up with the actor, who shared why he thinks the third film in the "MIB" franchise
is so special . . .

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 12:49 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Quote:
Originally posted by Storymark:
Nothing homophobic. Dude tried to kiss him on the mouth, univited - its what he deserved.

And no, he wasn't going for the cheek - that reporter's gimmick is kissing everyone he interviews on the mouth.

Yep. Upon further review, I gotta agree. Hug was followed by sorta kiss on cheek to attempted full mouth kiss by the Ruskie. Not sure I'd have popped the guy in the face like Will did, but it wasn't an actual punch, or even a full slap, more of a tap, at best.

In the photo posted, it does sorta look like Will is having flashbacks to his Cassius Clay role, and is landing a pop to the chops.

" We're all just folk. " - Mal

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

"The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein

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