Chris Rock beat up Will Smith and his wife in a comedy spectacular that was live streamed across the world a year after he was slapped on stage at the Academy Awards, making jokes about how much he enjoyed watching the actor get beat up in his most recent movie.
Rock said he had been watching the slavery drama “Emancipation” live on Saturday from the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore specifically to see Smith “get whooped,” with the crowd yelling “hit him again” and “you missed a spot.”
Smith stormed onto the Oscars stage in March 2022 and smacked comedian Chris Rock in the face when the latter made a joke about the looks of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The star of “King Richard” went back to his audience seat and won best actor afterwards.
Until accusing Will Smith of “selective outrage,” which was also the title of his hour-long show, Rock had remained largely silent about the event.
The comedian claimed that Pinkett Smith was partly to blame for the three of them becoming tense by calling for a boycott of the Oscars in 2016 while Chris Rock served as host. Pinkett Smith claimed she was protesting the omission of Black actors like Will Smith.
Pinkett Smith was the subject of jokes made by Rock, a Black man, both that year and last year at the Oscars.
“She starts it. I finish it, “Rock remarked.
Rock also brought up the Smiths openly documented marital issues. In 2020, Pinkett Smith acknowledged having an “entanglement,” as she called it.
“I didn’t have any entanglements,” Rock said. “She hurt him way more than he hurt me.” Representatives for the Smiths did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The day after slapping Rock, Will Smith apologised to him and to the organisation that hands out the Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Smith’s attendance at the Oscars was prohibited by the academy for ten years.
The first live event aired on Netflix was a comedy special. Netflix is testing the technology in preparation for potentially adding more real-time programming.
According to a person familiar with the situation, the OTT streaming company agreed to pay $40 million for two Rock comedy specials as part of a 2016 agreement. The second of the two specials were held on Saturday.
Rock riffed throughout most of the show on a variety of subjects, including the Kardashians, abortion, and his love life as well as the British royal family. He ended by saying why he did not fight back when Smith hit him. He said, “I got parents, and you know what my parents taught me?” he said. “Don’t fight in front of white people.”
