Comedian Chris Rock ‘s stand-up special, Selective Outrage, premiered on Netflix Saturday and, as expected, he made numerous jokes about Will Smith smacking him in the face onstage at the Oscars gala last year.
“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 quipped, referring to Smith’s most recent drama in which he plays a slave.
Rock also poked fun of the fact that Smith, who frequently plays action heroes, hit someone smaller, whom he knew “he could beat.”
“It still hurts! I got ‘Summertime’ ringin’ in my ear!” Rock said.
Rock also revealed people keep asking him why he didn’t hit Smith back.
“Because I got parents. You know what my parents taught me? Don’t fight in front of White people,” Rock said.
Smith hit Rock after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s head, which is bald because she has alopecia, something Rock has said he didn’t know at the time.
Smith went on to yell expletives at Rock, disrupting the proceedings, but, moments later, he picked up the Best Actor Oscar and most of the audience gave him a standing ovation as everyone scrambled to figure out exactly what transpired.
“Everybody knows I had nothing to do with that [expletive,]” Rock said, referring to Smith’s anger and suggesting it was really sparked by the media attention given to Pinkett Smith’s reported romance with her son Jaden’s friend August Alsina.
Smith has since apologized for his behavior at the Oscars, but he was banned for 10 years from attending the ceremony. Rock also declined to press charges against Smith.
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Heading into Rock’s special this weekend, Ronny Chieng hosted The Show Before the Show, live from The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, with Arsenio Hall, Leslie Jones and Deon Cole.
The program also included live commentary from fellow comedians and special messages from some of Rock’s friends including Cedric The Entertainer, Ice-T, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Matthew McConaughey, Paul McCartney, Sarah Silverman and Wanda Sykes.
Following the special, David Spade and Dana Carvey hosted The Show After the Show with special guests Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, JB Smoove, Arsenio Hall and Yvonne Orji.
Get ready. My next stand-up special Selective Outrage will be streaming LIVE on Netflix. March 4 at 10pm ET/7pm PT #chrisrocklive pic.twitter.com/KqJnEGOaMj
— Chris Rock (@chrisrock) December 25, 2022
