Chris Rock rips Will Smith over Oscars slap in live Netflix special
Chris Rock is ready to talk smack about Will Smith.
In his live Netflix comedy special Selective Outrage, the comedian tore into the King Richard actor nearly one year after being slapped by him on stage at the 2022 Oscars. Most of Rock's jokes on the subject came at the end of the special, and he quipped that he was "smacked by Suge Smith."
"People are like, 'Did it hurt?'" Rock said. "It still hurts! I got 'Summertime' ringing in my ear!"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Rock rejected the notion that he and Smith had been "fighting," noting the actor is "significantly bigger" than him and joking, "Will Smith does movies with his shirt off. You've never seen me do a movie with my shirt off."
Smith slapped Rock over a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, having a bald head. But Rock continued that "I had nothing to do with that s--t" and "I didn't have any entanglements," referring to an infamous episode of Pinkett Smith's talk show Red Table Talk where she discusses having a relationship with singer August Alsina that she described as an "entanglement."
"We've all been cheated on," Rock joked. "Everybody in here has been cheated on. None of us have ever been interviewed by the person that cheated on us on television. ... She hurt him way more than he hurt me."
Rock continued that Smith hitting him was "some b---h a-- s--t" and that he did "nothing" to Smith, adding that Pinkett Smith "started this" when she wanted him to "quit his job" hosting the 2016 Oscars because her husband wasn't nominated amid the #OscarsSoWhite backlash. "I have rooted for Will Smith my whole life," Rock said, "...and now I watch Emancipation just to see him get whooped." Smith plays a runaway slave in Emancipation. But Rock also said he's "not a victim" and that fans will "never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying."
Rock's special streamed live on Netflix just over a week before the 2023 Oscars, which Smith won't attend after being banned from the ceremony for 10 years.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
US won its war on 'murder hornets,' officials say
Speed Read The announcement comes five years after the hornets were first spotted in the US
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
California declares bird flu emergency
Speed Read The emergency came hours after the nation's first person with severe bird flu infection was hospitalized
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, Musk sink spending bill, teeing up shutdown
Speed Read House Republicans abandoned the bill at the behest of the two men
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproar
Speed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published