Chris Rock hits back at Will Smith a year after the slap
2 Min Read
A year after the slap, Chris Rock punches back.
-
Will Smith, right, hits presenter Chris Rock on stage while presenting the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP)
A year after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on the Academy Awards stage, Chris finally hit back, on Saturday, in a brutal stand-up routine that was streamed live on Netflix.
The comedian accused the Hollywood star of "selective outrage" when he reacted to an insulting remark about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head, saying Smith lashed out at a shorter man because he was annoyed his wife had cheated on him.
"Will Smith practices selective outrage," Rock told the audience.
"Everybody that really knows, knows I had nothing to do with that. I didn't have any entanglements," he said, referring to Pinkett Smith's known marital infidelity.
Last March, Rock was presenting an Oscar in Hollywood when he made a crack about crop-headed Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia.
The star mounted the stage and slapped the comedian hard in the face, before going back to his place, shouting obscenities at the presenter.
A few minutes later, Smith was given an Oscar for his role in "King Richard." He did apologize to Rock later, but his behavior led him to be banned for a decade from the Oscars.
That night, Rock was praised for his collected response, and while he maintained silence on the issue for almost a year, he surprised the audience on Saturday night's live stream from Baltimore.
"People ask 'Did it hurt?'. It still hurts," he said.
Rock, who appeared really angry at times, said before last year's incident he had always loved Smith, both as a rapper and actor.
Rock's show was the first live comedy event for Netflix, while rivals like Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video already have live events.
It is worth noting that this year's Oscars will be held on March 12.
