Comedian Chris Rock made a mockery of being slapped by star Will Smith at last year’s Oscars in a live comedy special, saying he enjoyed seeing Smith take a beating in his latest movie.
And the Netflix network broadcast the episode directly from the Hippodrome Theater in Baltimore, where Rock said he watched the movie (Emancipation) or “break free” only to see Smith being beaten during the events of the film and he was exclaiming in joy, saying, “Hit him again” and “There is a place where you did not hit him.” .
And in March 2022, Smith went on stage at the Oscars and slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about the appearance of Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith, the “King Richard” star, then returned to his seat in the audience and later won the Best Actor award.
Rock remained silent about the incident until near the end of the hour-long special, then accused Smith of “selective rage,” the name chosen for the special’s title.
Rock indicated that Smith’s wife sowed the seeds of tension between them, in part because of her call to boycott the Oscars in 2016 when Rock was the presenter. Pinkett Smith said she was protesting that her husband and other black actors were not nominated.
Rock mocked Pinkett Smith at the Oscars at the time and mocked her again last year.
Rock also touched on marital problems that Smith and his wife have spoken about publicly. Pinkett Smith admitted that she had an affair, which she described as “trouble” in 2020.
Rock said, “I did not get into any trouble.. I (Smith) caused him much more harm than he hurt me.”
Representatives for Smith and his wife did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Will Smith issued a statement apologizing to Rock and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, the day after the ceremony. The Academy banned Smith from attending the Academy Awards for 10 years.
The Rock comedy special is Netflix’s first live event as the platform tests the technology and is considering expanding into streaming for other shows.
A source familiar with the matter said Netflix agreed to pay $40 million for two episodes of The Rock comedy special under a deal reached in 2016. Saturday’s episode is the second in the deal.
Rock spent most of the special talking about topics ranging from Britain’s royal family to the Kardashians, abortion and his love life, then ended the program by stating why he did not reciprocate Will Smith’s slap.
Rock said, “I have two parents, and do you know what my parents taught me? (…) Don’t fight in front of white people.”
