On his program ‘Selective Outrage,’ the comic addressed the infamous Will Smith slap incident and Jada Smith’s infidelity for the first time.
Chris Rock didn’t hold back when he spoke out for the first time on Saturday night about the contentious Will Smith Oscars slap incident.
In the last minutes of his Netflix show “Selective Outrage,” the 58-year-old comedian unleashed a barrage of hurtful comments on the 54-year-old actor and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, 51, nearly a year after Smith stormed onstage at the Academy Oscars and slapped him across the face.
More than an hour into his act, the three-time Grammy Award winner mentioned former rapper Suge Knight, serving a 28-year jail sentence after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter in 2018.
“You all know what happened to me when I got hit by Smith,” he started. “Everyone is aware! Everyone f——— is aware! Indeed, it did occur. I was smacked. This motherf——— smacked me at the f——— Oscars a year ago, and people are asking, ‘Does it hurt?’ It’s still painful! ‘Summertime’ is playing in my head! But I am not a victim. You’ll never see me crying on Oprah or Gayle.”
He said, “No way, it’s never going to happen. No. I took that hit like Pacquiao’s mother——-!”
Rock commented on their size disparity: “Will Smith is much taller than I am. We’re not the same height.”
“This guy makes movies while wearing no shirt!” Exclaimed Rock. “You’ve never seen me in a film without my shirt on. I put on a sweatshirt if I’m in a movie having open-heart surgery. In a film, Will Smith portrayed Muhammad Ali. Do you suppose I tried out for that part? In ‘New Jack City,’ I played Pookie. In “Pootie Tang,” I played a piece of corn… He’s larger, even in animation. He’s a shark, and I’m a zebra.”
Rock alluded to the title of his show while accusing Smith of “selective outrage” and mentioning Jada’s “entanglements.”
“And for those who don’t know — Will Smith, his wife was f——— her son’s buddy,” Rock continued.
The comedian then criticized Smith for his appearance on Jada’s Facebook Watch show “Red Table Talk,” where they addressed her adultery.
“We’ve all been dumped. Everyone has been dumped. None of us had ever seen the individual who cheated on us on television being interviewed, “He stated.
“She harmed him far more than he harmed me.” “Everyone on the planet called him a b——,” he said. “I tried calling the motherf——— to express my sympathy, but he didn’t answer. Everyone called him a b—— and an f———. Charlamagne [tha God] called him a b——, “The Breakfast Club,” “The View,” “The Talk,” and every rapper called him a b——, his wife a predator, and everyone else called him a b——. Everybody! Everybody! And who does he strike? Me!”
After Smith was not nominated for his performance in 2015’s “Concussion,” Rock accused Jada of suggesting he shouldn’t host the Oscars.
Rock recalled how much he respected Smith’s music and films in the past, stating he “loved” him. “I’ve always rooted for Will Smith,” he said. “And now I just watch ‘Emancipation’ to see him whoop.” Smith’s 2022 Apple+ film, in which he portrays a slave, was referenced by the comic.
Rock addressed why he didn’t physically retaliate after being smacked by Smith in the closing moments of his show.
“Many people ask, ‘Chris, how come you didn’t do anything back?’ ‘How come he didn’t respond that night?’ Because I have parents. That is the reason. Because of how I was raised.”
“What did my parents teach me? Do not engage in combat in front of White folks!”
The Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland, hosted Rock’s spectacular, which was Netflix’s first live-streaming event.
Throughout the act, he made jokes about Meghan Markle, the Kardashians, O.J. Simpson, Elon Musk, Snoop Dogg, Dave Chappelle, Beyoncé, Doja Cat, and Draymond Green, among others. Among other things, he discussed “wokeism,” “cancel culture,” transgenderism, abortion, politics, victimhood, and America’s split.
The “seven-second delay button is taking a night off” for “Selective Outrage,” according to a news release published by Netflix prior of the event.
Rock’s special was preceded by a pre-show at Los Angeles’ Comedy Store, hosted by Malaysian comic Ronny Chieng and including performances by Arsenio Hall, Leslie Jones, and J.B. Smoove.
The event also included pre-recorded remarks from several celebrities, including Amy Schumer, Paul McCartney, George Lopez, Adam Sandler, Kevin Hart, Ice-T, Jerry Seinfeld, and Matthew McConaughey. Dana Carvey and David Spade hosted “The Show After the Show” with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Yvonne Orji, Smoove, and Hall following the special.
The iconic incident occurred live onstage in front of a global audience at the 95th Academy Awards about a year ago.
Smith, who later that night won best actor for his portrayal in “King Richard,” was angered by a joke made by the comedian about Jada.
“I love you, Jada. I can’t wait to see ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ right?” While presenting a prize, Rock cracked a joke. He referred to Demi Moore’s character in the 1997 film “G.I. Jane,” who shaved her head to play a fake Navy SEAL candidate.
The actress from “The Nutty Professor” has alopecia, an autoimmune illness that causes hair loss. Smith surprised the audience after Rock’s joke when he stepped up onstage and struck Rock across the face.
Before the special, the “Spiral” star had generally kept quiet about the incident, except for stand-up gags he tried out on stand-up audiences on his “Ego Death World Tour.” Some of the information made it into his Saturday night program.
Smith initially publicly apologized to Chris Rock and the Academy in an Instagram statement the day after the Oscars. In a five-minute Instagram video in August, he apologized to Rock and others, including Chris’ mother, Rose Rock.
The “Bad Boys For Life” performer claims he contacted Rock to discuss the event, but the comic refused to meet him. Smith appeared to make light of the smack in an Instagram video last week.
The Academy Awards will be broadcast on March 12, but Smith will not be present because he was banned for ten years after the smack.
