Chris Rock Will Talk About Will Smith’s Oscars Slap In His Upcoming Live Netflix Special

Will Smith, Chris Rock

Chris Rock Will Talk About Will Smith’s Oscars Slap In His Upcoming Live Netflix Special

It looks like Chris Rock is finally ready to talk about the infamous Oscars slap and will be addressing the incident in his upcoming Netflix special.

The legendary comedian is set to perform a live stand-up special on Netflix on March 4 where he will address Will Smith slapping him at the Oscars nearly one year ago.

While Chris Rock has briefly mentioned the incident in his stand-up performances over the past year, he will reportedly go into much greater detail for the first time.

According to reports, in January, Rock workshopped the material for the special during an arena show in Charleston he co-headlined with Dave Chappelle. During the show, he addressed the now-infamous moment with Smith.

According to a source who was in attendance, Chris Rock joked,

“The thing people wanna know … did it hurt? Hell yeah it hurt. He played Muhammad Ali! I played Pookie (in ‘New Jack City’). Even in animated movies I’m a zebra, he’s a f—ing shark. I got hit so hard, I heard ‘Summertime’ ringing in my ears.” 

Chris Rock

Rock continued by saying Will Smith is much bigger than he is.

“Will Smith is a big dude. I am not. Will Smith is shirtless in his movies. If you see me in a movie getting open heart surgery, I’m gonna have a sweater on.”

As previously reported, Will Smith stormed the Oscars stage last year and assaulted presenter Chris Rock on live TV. If you recall, Rock made an insensitive joke about the “King Richard” star’s wife — Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head (due to alopecia) — moments before Smith won his first-ever Oscars award.

Will Smith just punched Chris Rock and told him "keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth" pic.twitter.com/YK5aQqv89t

— BACKUP ACCOUNT (@JasmineBrandTHE) March 28, 2022

Following the slap, Smith was banned from participating in the awards ceremony for 10 years after resigning on his own. The entertainer made several apologies to the Academy, colleagues, and Rock for the regretful moment.

Chris Rock’s highly anticipated live stand-up special, Selective Outrage will feature a number of A-list guests including Amy Schumer, Cedric the Entertainer, Ice-T, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Paul McCartney, Sarah Silverman, and Wanda Sykes.

According to reports, there will be a live pre-show titled The Show Before the Show that will air with Ronnie Chieng, Leslie Jones, Deon Cole, and Arsenio Hall. After Rock’s performance, the night will end with The Show After the Show, featuring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, JB Smoove, and Arsenio Hall.

Robbie Praw, Netflix VP of Stand-up and Comedy Formats, said in a statement,

“March 4 will be a hilarious evening, with an incredible set from Chris Rock – one of the greatest stand-ups of all-time – and contributions from an amazing lineup of special guests.. Our goal is to deliver the best stand-up comedy to our members and this live streaming event further reinforces all the ways we continue to invest in the genre.”

Selective Outrage will air on Netflix on March 4, 2023.

What are your thoughts? Will you be tuning in? Let us know in the comments below!

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