One year after the controversy that stunned millions of viewers worldwide, Chris Rock has opened up in great detail for the first time about getting slapped by Will Smith during the Oscars.
He started by saying; “Everybody knows, yes it happened, I got slapped a year ago – I got smacked by this motherfucker,” Rock said. “And people are like, ‘Did it hurt?’ It still hurts. I’ve got Summertime ringing in my ears.”
Rock seemed exhausted and furious spoke about Smith near the conclusion of Selective Outrage, a stand-up performance that was broadcast live on Netflix from Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre on Saturday night.
Recall that after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, having a bald head that she shaves due to alopecia, Smith, who later won best actor that night, whacked Rock in the middle of the broadcast.
The comedian later decided against filing a complaint.
Rock performed in Boston a few days later, but he admitted on stage that he was still absorbing what had transpired.
He said, “I’m still kind of processing what happened. So at some point I’ll talk about that shit. And it will be serious and funny.”
Despite taking a break to go on a world tour, this is the first time the comedian has talked in-depth about the incident.
Rock made several comments in his new show about people seeking attention by classifying themselves as victims, but said: “I am not a victim. You will never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying. Never going to happen … I took that hit like [boxer Manny] Pacquiao. I took it like motherfucking Pacquiao. Did it hurt? Yeah motherfucker, it hurt.”
He rejected people describing himself and Smith as fighting, saying: “First of all, I know you can’t tell on camera but Will Smith is significantly bigger than me. We are not the same size. Will Smith does movies with his shirt off. You ain’t never seen me do a movie with my shirt off. I’m in a movie getting open-heart surgery, I’ve got on a sweater.
“Will Smith played Muhammad Ali in a movie. Do you think I auditioned for that part? He played Muhammad Ali, I played Pookie in New Jack City.”
The comedian added that the slap had inspired the name of his show.
Continuing, he said; “Everybody knows what the fuck happened. And everybody really knows I had nothing to do with that shit. I didn’t have any ‘entanglements’,” he said, referring to Pinkett Smith’s description of the affair she had with rapper, August Alsina while married to Smith.
Pinkett Smith made the admission directly to Smith on an episode of her online show, Red Table Talk.
Rock went on saying, “His wife was fucking his son’s friend, OK? I normally would not talk about this shit, but for some reason … [they] put that shit on the internet. I have no idea why two talented people would do something that lowdown. What the fuck?
“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 said, adding that he tried to call Smith afterwards to “give him my condolences but he didn’t pick up for me.
“Everybody called that man a bitc and who’s he hit? Me,” he added, to laughter.
“I loved Will Smith, my whole life I loved him. I saw him open for Run DMC … he has made some great movies. I have rooted for Will Smith my whole life. And now I watch Emancipation just to see him get whooped.”
He said he did not retaliate on the night “because I got parents. Because I was raised. And you know what my parents taught me? Don’t fight in front of white people,” he said, throwing his microphone to the ground to end the show.
Smith has repeatedly talked about the slap since, publicly apologising to Rock the day after on Instagram, writing: “I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be.” Months later, he said he had reached out to Rock but “he’s not ready to talk”.
