It’s hard to believe that we’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of the 95th Academy Awards, where Will Smith infamously slapped Chris Rock on stage and subsequently hurled expletives from his seat. Said incident occurred after Rock made a joke at the expense of the movie star’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith has since apologized for his actions, while Rock has shared few thoughts on the matter, except responding with the occasional jab in a stand-up routine. However, in his latest Netflix special, Rock finally spoke out on the slap, calling out Smith as well as the Jada Pinkett Smith affair among other things.
This Saturday, Chris Rock took to the stage in Baltimore, Maryland for his newest special (and Netflix’s first live stand-up comedy production), Selective Outrage. While it was said this past week that Rock finally planned to open up about the slap, it was unclear as to just how far he’d go. Early in the show, the 58-year-old comedian only alluded to the event, saying early on that “everybody who says words hurt has never been punched in the face.” He also referenced it while poking fun at both Snoop Dogg and Jay-Z, quipping that “the last thing I need is another mad rapper.”
But after an hour, the Bigger & Blacker performer finally let loose. He jokingly declared that the audience knew about his encounter with “Shug Smith” and gave a blunt answer when addressing those who ask if he still feels pain:
Y’all know what happened to me, getting smacked by Shug Smith. Everybody knows, everybody fucking knows. Yes, it happened. I got smacked like a year ago… I got smacked at the fucking Oscars by this motherfucker People are like ‘Did it hurt?’ It still hurts! I got ‘Summertime’ ringing in my ears.
Chris Rock, who opted not to press charges against Will Smith that night, got into even more detail in regard to the televised confrontation. He proceeded by comparing his own size to Smith’s and illustrated his point by referencing some of his and Smith’s former roles:
I know you can’t tell on camera [but] Will Smith is significantly bigger than me. … Will Smith is shirtless in his movies. If you see me in a movie getting open heart surgery, I got on a sweater. Will Smith played Muhammad Ali in a movie, you think I auditioned for that part? He played Muhammed Ali, I played Pookie in New Jack City. … I played a piece of corn. Shit, even in animated movies this motherfucker is bigger. I’m a zebra, he’s a shark. What the fuck, man?
His critiques of the I Am Legend star didn’t stop there, either. While making additional points, the comic evoked the title of his Netflix special. Here, the star would also call out Jada Pinkett Smith for the “entanglements” they discussed in 2020 on Red Table Talk. This, of course, refers to her alleged affair with singer August Alsina. Needless to say, the Spiral star did not hold back:
Will Smith practices selective outrage. Because what the fuck happened, everybody that really knows I had nothing to do with that shit. I didn’t have any ‘entanglements.' I did not have any entanglements. For everybody who doesn’t know, his wife was fucking her son’s friend. I normally wouldn’t not talk about this shit. But for some reason these [racial slur], put that shit on the Internet. I have no idea why two talented people would do something that lowdown. We’ve all been cheated on, everybody in here has been cheated on. None of us has ever been interviewed by the person who cheated on us on television… Why the fuck would you do that shit? She hurt him way more than he hurt me. OK? Everybody in the world called him a bitch. I tried to call that man and give him my condolences, he didn’t pick up for me. … Everybody called him a bitch, and who did he hit? Me – a [slur] he knows he could beat. That is some bitch-ass shit!
During his set, the Everybody Hates Chris creator also recalled how Jada Pinkett Smith suggested he opt out of hosting the Oscars back in 2016 amid the “Oscars So White” campaign. The comedian chastised the actress for suggesting he drop out because her husband didn’t receive an Academy Award nomination for Concussion that year. He also referenced the jokes he made about her during that year’s telecast, saying that “no one’s picking on this bitch” and that “she started this shit.” Despite all of these blunt thoughts, he also gave Will props and discussed his past admiration of the A-lister:
I love Will Smith, my whole life… He makes some great movies. I have rooted for Will Smith my whole life, I root for this motherfucker. And now, I watch ‘Emancipation’ just to see him get whooped.
While many have chastised the I, Robot star for what he did, some, like Jimmy Kimmel, have praised Chris Rock for not retaliating. During the show, he stated that he didn’t react “because I got parents and you know, what my parents taught me – don’t fight in front of white people!”
I think it pretty much goes without saying that Chris Rock had a lot to get off his chest here, and this may be the only time that he does. During the performance, he emphatically declared that he has no intention of expounding on any of this during a talk show appearance. As he puts it, he’s “not a victim” and that it’s “never gonna happen.” As far as he’s concerned, he “took that shit like Pacquiao.” It wouldn't be unreasonable to think that his comments are going to reverberate for some time. As for whether or not Will Smith or Jada Pinkett Smith choose to respond, that remains to be seen.
Those who want to stream Chris Rock’s Selective Outrage can do so by grabbing a Netflix subscription.
