In case you missed it, at the 2022 Academy Awards show, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in the face during the live broadcast. He was apparently upset about a joke Rock made about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
At the time, Rock didn’t want to comment about the slap even after Smith ended up publicly apologizing. One year later, Rock finally felt ready to publicly vent about the famous Oscar slap.
This past Saturday, Rock performed at the Hippodrome Theatre in Pinkett’s hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. The show, titled “Selective Outrage,” was also broadcast on Netflix via livestream.
During the show, Rock blasted Smith and Pinkett Smith through a series of jokes. For example, he said that he watches the movie “Emancipation” just to watch Smith get beat up.
According to a source who spoke to Entertainment Tonight, Smith did not watch the show, but he and his wife heard about it from friends who told him what Rock said. The source said that Smith “is embarrassed and hurt by what Chris said about him and his family in his Netflix special.”
The source added that Smith wishes Rock would get over it. The source said, “Will apologized to Chris and would like for Chris to let it go.” In addition, the source explained, “Will has worked on himself and he is banned by the Oscars for 10 years. He feels like that’s enough and wants Chris to move on, so that he and everyone else can too.”
Smith isn’t just mad at Rock about the comedy special. He is also mad at Netflix. The source said that Smith “is upset that Netflix gave Chris this platform to share these messages and thinks it’s distasteful.”
According to another source who also spoke to Entertainment Tonight, the comedy special was just what Rock needed in order to move on from the slap. The source explained that Rock “said everything he wanted to say” during the comedy special. The source added, “It was funny, self-deprecating, and thought-provoking. Now, ‘Chris is ready to move on.'”
Watch the video below to see a clip from “Selective Outrage” and to hear more of Smith’s thoughts about the comedy special.
If you were Smith, would you be mad about the comedy special? Do you think it was inappropriate of Netflix to livestream this special?