Chris Rock Addresses Oscars Slap in New Standup Special
Rock spoke at length about the fallout from the incident in his new set.
Over the weekend, actor and comedian Chris Rock premiered his new standup special on Netflix, entitled Selective Outrage. This was a major milestone for both Rock and Netflix as a platform, as it was the very first standup special to be broadcast live on the platform.
Of course, as anyone who has kept an eye on Rock over the past year expected, he dedicated some time in his new standup set to discuss the infamous incident during the 2022 Academy Awards in which he was slapped in the face for making a joke about Will Smith’s wife. While Rock has briefly addressed the slap several times before, this is the most he had spoken about it today.
“I’m going to try to do a show tonight without offending nobody. I’m going to try my best, because you never know who might get triggered,” Rock said at the start of the show. “People always say words hurt. Anybody who says words hurt has never been punched in the face.”
“You all know what happened to me, getting smacked by Suge Smith,” Rock said. “It still hurts. I got ‘Summertime’ ringing in my ears. But I’m not a victim, baby. You’ll never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying… I took that hit like Pacquiao.”
Chris Rock on Will Smith’s Slap: 7-Minute Roast #selectiveOutrage #Netflix pic.twitter.com/mcWMCFqNfS
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Smith has apologized to Rock several times since the incident, and in the show, Rock addressed his thoughts on the matter. “I love Will Smith, my whole life,” Rock said. “I have rooted for Will Smith my whole life … now I watch Emancipation just to see him get whupped.”
Rock added that several people have asked him, “How come you didn’t do nothing back [to Smith] that night?” He responded, “Because I got parents. You know what my parents taught me? Don’t fight in front of White people.”