Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, on March 27, 2022. | Source: ROBYN BECK / Getty
A handful of jokes about Will Smith that Chris Rock is expected to reprise in a new live comedy special on Netflix has leaked in the media ahead of the performance. The comedian reportedly has plenty of funny things to say about the decidedly unfunny experience of being slapped in the face live on stage by the actor during last year’s Academy Awards ceremony.
The new and updated material is expected to be revealed in Rock’s Selective Outrage comedy special, which will be streamed live on Saturday night.
And if any of the below jokes as sourced by the New York Post are any indication, Selective Outrage — likely intentionally timed to debut one week before the 2023 Academy Awards ceremony — will be everything fans of comedy want.
Smith and his wife — Jada Pinkett Smith, who was the butt of Rock’s jokes last year that prompted “the slap” — may not feel the same way, though. After calling Pinkett Smith by her name during the routine at the Oscars last year, Rock is now reportedly only referring to her as “Will Smith’s wife” and “his wife.”
In the year since “the slap,” Rock has been performing across the world and Smith released a movie about a runaway slave called Emancipation that was ironically gaining an Oscar buzz.
It was in that context that Rock joked about Smith recently.
“I rooted for Will Smith my whole life,” Rock told an audience. But, he continued, “The other day, I watched ‘Emancipation’ just so I could watch him getting whipped.”
Earlier this month during a performance in Baltimore, Rock further addressed being slapped by Smith at the Oscars.
“Will Smith practices selective outrage,” Rock said during the Feb. 17 performance. “People who are in the know, know that s**t had nothing to do with me.”
Continuing along that line, Rock pointed to their cinematic careers to draw a physical distinction between them.
“He is significantly bigger than me,” Rock told the audience. “You will never see me on camera with my shirt off. Will played Muhammad Ali. I played Pookie [in 1991’s New Jack City].”
Rock also likened Smith to Suge Knight, the notorious music industry bully and former owner of the controversial Death Row Records who has since been imprisoned for a homicide conviction.
Rock asked: “Who gets smacked by Suge Smith?”
A billboard advertises Netflix’s “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage” live comedy event special along Sunset Blvd on February 28, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: PATRICK T. FALLON / Getty
During his new routines, Rock has also addressed the admitted extramarital “entanglement” that Pinkett Smith confirmed she had with singer August Alsina, who is more than 20 years her junior.
“We have all been cheated on,” Rock told the audience. “She hurt him way more than he ever hurt me.”
Rock said he was actually sympathetic to Smith despite his unwitting jokes about Pinkett Smith having alopecia.
“I felt so bad for Will, I tried to call and give him my condolences,” Rock added. “Everybody was calling him a b***h except me. But who does he hit? Me.”
Netflix is scheduled to stream Selective Outrage live Saturday night at 10 p.m. EST.
SEE ALSO:
Rep. Ayanna Pressley Addresses Deleted Tweet Saluting Will Smith Slap
Chris Rock’s Uncensored Audio Revealed After Getting Slapped At The Oscars
