I notice you and a few other people in this thread seem to think that Smith not being escorted out was a sign of black privilege. I don't agree with that, but I could be wrong. Let me ask you this- can you name five actors with more star power than Will Smith? Living, working actors who have comparable name recognition, who are generally well-liked by the public, who have given critically acclaimed performances and who have had similar recent box office success? ( Bad Boys 2 came out just before pandemic lockdowns in 2020 and made over $400 m worldwide). I can only think of two who are arguably close and I am positive they would not have been escorted out. At the same time, I think it's unlikely any other black actor would have been allowed to remain. It seems to me Smith was allowed to stay because of his immense star power and the fact that he was nominated for one of the biggest awards of the night. Do you think race is more important than star power in Hollywood? Do you think Will Smith is generally disliked by his peers in the industry, but security was guilted into cutting him some slack because of his race?
I can't disagree with much or anything you said here.
And I would be hard pressed to point to many actors with more star power than Will Smith - I just saw that his Instagram page has 61M followers - Whoa!
I would therefore not automatically classify this under Black Privilege. I mean - he slapped another Black man, so if it's not like we can make a Black-on-White versus White-on-Black comparison.
Also, I loathe conversations about privilege. They are so petty.
That being said - ok, fine, privilege exists [I just hate having conversations about things that are hard to quantify].
Could it just be Status Privilege.
Yes, absolutely.
It's akin to Jada complaining about racism in Hollywood, when IMO, the reason for her decline in career opportunities is more due to ageism - BUT...she also sort of got her start in Hollywood due to Young Beautiful Female Privilege.
These distinctions are subtle - but they are there. I just don't want to give leftist talking points too much credible.
But to your question - could this just be a case of status working in Will's favour [Status Privilege - or even Wealth-Generating Privilege], then yes, absolutely it might be that.
It's hard to say how this would play out had this been two White actors - so I don't want to jump on the Black Privilege card here.
I think it may just be a matter of status, as you said. And Will absolutely has incredible star power - amazing after being in the spotlight for over 30 years.
