A year after Will Smith smacked him on the Academy Awards stage, Chris Rock delivered his rebuttal in a powerful stand-up special, which was streamed live on Netflix, and boasted that he “took that hit like Pacquiao.”
The 58-year-old comedian performed his first stand-up special since last year’s Oscars on Saturday night, in a much-anticipated sequel that had all the hype — and more — of a Manny Pacquaio prizefight. “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage,” which was streamed live from Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre, was Netflix’s first foray into live streaming. It was, however, a long-awaited comedy counterpunch to the Academy Awards’ infamy.
Rock, dressed all in white and wearing a Prince medallion around his neck, immediately alluded to last year’s Oscars while riffing on “wokeness,” hypersensitivity, and “selective outrage.”
“You never know who will be triggered,” Rock said. “Anyone who claims that words hurt them hasn’t been punched in the face.”
However, Rock then launched into a series of broad topics examining current issues, such as virtue signaling, high-priced yoga pants, the Duchess of Sussex, the Kardashians, abortion rights, the Capitol riot, and what he called America’s biggest addition: Attention.
“We used to want love, now we just want likes,” Rock explained.
Rock, who also riffed on how he’d react if his father transitioned to a woman (he’d support him), made it clear that “Selective Outrage” would be more than just a Will Smith show. Only on rare occasions did Rock’s material coincide with the 2022 Oscars, such as when Rock joked about Snoop Dogg becoming such a revered pitchman for advertisers.
“I’m not knocking Snoop,” Rock clarified. “I don’t need another crazed rapper.”
However, an hour into his set, Rock concluded the special with a torrent of material about the infamous Academy Awards moment.
“You’re all aware of what happened to me when I was smacked by Suge Smith. Everyone is aware, “Rock stated. “It is still painful. ‘Summertime’ is ringing in my ears.”
While Smith has apologized and spoken about the incident numerous times since March, Rock has avoided all of the usual platforms where celebrities often go to express their feelings. He never met with Oprah Winfrey and turned down numerous media outlets who would have loved to have an exclusive in-depth interview with him.
“I’m not a victim, baby,” Rock declared. “You will never see me crying on Oprah or Gayle. It will never be seen by you. It will never happen.”
However, Rock did use his encounter with Smith to shape and enliven his second Netflix stand-up special. His best material focused on their physical differences.
“We’re not the same height. This guy makes movies without his shirt on “Rock stated. “You’ll never see me in a movie without a shirt on. I put on a sweater if I’m in a movie having open-heart surgery.”
“He played Muhammad Ali,” Rock added. “In ‘New Jack City,’ I played Pookie.”
Finally, Rock suggested that he was simply caught in the crossfire of Smith’s marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith.
It was a joke about Pinkett Smith that prompted Smith to storm the stage and strike Rock. On Saturday, the comedian alluded to Pinkett Smith’s previous admissions of having a “entanglement” with another man while married.
“I had no entanglements,” Rock explained. “She harmed him far more than he harmed me.”
“I adore Will Smith,” Rock added. “Now I just watch ‘Emancipation’ to see him get whooped.”
Rock left the audience with one last zinger before dropping his microphone and triumphantly raising his arms. Rock explained that he did not physically retaliate at the Oscars because “I got parents.”
“And do you know what my parents taught me?” he inquired. “You should not fight in front of white people.”
Netflix added pre- and post-show bookends of star-studded live programming with “every comedy legend who owes Netflix a favor,” as host comedian Ronny Chieng put it. Bono provided the opening introduction. The after-show was hosted by Dana Carvey and David Spade. Paul McCartney, Tracy Morgan, Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, and Wanda Sykes, one of last year’s Oscar hosts, all added pre-recorded messages. Arsenio Hall promised that Rock’s set would make Smith smack his television set.
For much of the past year, Rock has been touring new material as part of his Ego Death tour, which has included a long string of performances. The shows, which were announced before the 2022 Oscars, included appearances by Dave Chappelle and Kevin Hart.
On the road, Rock has frequently incorporated slap jokes and reflections. Last year, three nights after the Oscars, in Boston, Rock broke his public silence about the slap. “How was your weekend?” he inquired of the audience. He went on to say that he was “still sort of processing what happened.”
Rock returned to the cultural spotlight just a week before the Oscars on March 12, where the slap is sure to be revisited by this year’s host, Jimmy Kimmel. Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the aftermath of last year’s events. Smith was barred from attending the Oscars and all other academy events for a decade by the academy’s board of governors.
Last month, motion picture academy president Janet Yang expressed regret about how the incident was handled, calling the academy’s response “inadequate.” The academy’s chief executive, Bill Kramer, has stated that the academy has since established a crisis communications team to prepare for and respond to the unexpected.
“Selective Outrage” is Rock’s second Netflix special, following “Tamborine” in 2018. Their part of a two-year, $40 million deal Rock struck with the streaming service in 2016.
Even though the live “Selective Outrage” for Netflix was brand new, there were a few familiar elements to it.
“You have to give credit to tech companies for inventing something that has existed for decades,” Chieng said. “On Saturday night, we’ll be performing a live comedy show. Genius.”
