I don't know any one of these people personally. So maybe they are good people.
I do. My wife works in film. I don't bump elbows with A-list actors, but I've at least spoken to a decent number when there were no cameras or press around. And, no, I'm not telling any stories. FWIW, crew parties are more fun than cast parties. No, Will Smith is not one of the ones I've met (I think I'm 2 degrees away...I'd have to look at his credits to be sure).
There are
drastic differences between people, just like everywhere. For some reason, we see a lot of the super-famous people acting like idiots, probably just because it sells ad space. And because a lot of people end up having parasocial relationships with the characters these celebrities play either in roles or in the media. Will Smith having such a wholesome image for so long, then having a shit show of a marriage, then this....a lot of people feel personally betrayed. A lot of others are going to excuse it because the parasocial relationship is worth more to them, just like you're more likely to make excuses for a friend than a stranger...up to a point.
I'm not really a fan of condemning people for their worst moment. Sometimes, it's egregious enough that it's justified (like Alec Baldwin). I'm not convinced this is one of those cases....he's had a hard life at different points and a hard few years. It's understandable but not excusable, especially in context. I don't think this one action makes him an "irrational scumbag". But, whether or not he deserves any respect will depend on how he deals with it and the issues that caused it. And, I'm not sure that the real story is ever going to go public.
I do think it's funny that this is the one story from the Oscars that it seems like everyone is focusing on.
Not most of the room proving that they're uninformed and illiterate.
Not the obvious displays of double-standards with regard to sexual objectification of people.
Not, or at least less so, the big picture cultural significance of these being the worst-watched Oscars in decades when adjusted for population size.
Not the fact that the winner of Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted screenplay
grossed about 10% of it's budget.
Not that the movie that the Best Actress winner was in grossed about 1% of its budget.
Heck, even the movie Will Smith won for only grossed 80% of its budget.
Money isn't everything where art is concerned. But, the biggest story of the night is that the Academy is totally and completely out of touch with American culture.