Assume you’ve got heard all the pieces there probably is to listen to about what went down between Will Smith and Chris Rock ultimately yr’s Oscars ceremony? Assume once more. Rock reportedly plans to handle “The Slap” in his new comedy particular, Chris Rock: Selective Outrage—Netflix’s first-ever world stay streaming occasion, out Saturday, March 4th. However although that is being touted as a watershed occasion, Rock hasn’t precisely been beneath a cone of silence concerning the notorious slap over the previous yr.
First, a recap: ultimately yr’s Oscars ceremony, Rock made a joke about Smith’s spouse, Jada Pinkett Smith, and her mostly-shorn hair, saying “Jada. I like you. GI Jane 2—cannot wait to see it.” Pinkett Smith—who’s been vocal about her struggles with alopecia—was visibly aggravated at Rock’s dig, prompting Will Smith to storm the stage and swiftly slap Rock throughout the face. Instantly after the slap, a shocked Rock introduced to the viewers, “Wow. Will Smith simply smacked the shit out of me.”
Whereas the Academy struggled with how to answer Will Smith’s outburst on the ceremony, Rock was reportedly “in shock” backstage after the slap—and, like several comic value his salt, subtle the second with a joke. “I simply took a slap from Muhammad Ali,” Rock advised lead Oscars producer Will Packer, referencing Smith’s Oscar-nominated portrayal of the late boxer within the 2003 biopic Ali.
Within the aftermath of the occasion, Rock eschewed conventional types of media to speak about what occurred on the Oscars—no morning present interview, no journal cowl, no Oprah tell-all a la Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. As a substitute, he has shared his ideas concerning the slap through his comedy.
This is a timeline of what Rock has stated concerning the slap, and when he stated it:
March 30, 2022: Rock performs his first standup present submit slap on the Wilbur Theater, simply three days after the slap occurred. “How was your weekend?” the comic quips, to uproarious applause.
“I don’t have a bunch of shit about what occurred, so in case you got here to listen to that, I’ve a complete present I wrote earlier than this weekend,” Rock tells the gang. “I’m nonetheless type of processing what occurred. So, sooner or later, I’ll speak about that shit. And it is going to be critical and humorous.”
April 2, 2022: At a present in Atlantic Metropolis, Rock says that he’s had “an fascinating week” and jokes that Atlantic Metropolis is “too shut” to Philly, slyly referencing Smith’s hometown.
April 10, 2022: At a comedy present in Palm Springs, Rock jokes, “Life is nice. I acquired my listening to again.” Once more, although, he says he gained’t spend an excessive amount of time discussing the incident. “I am okay,” he says. “I’ve a complete present” to carry out—one he wrote pre-slap—“and I am not speaking about that till I receives a commission.”
Could 4, 2022: Rock opens for Dave Chappelle on the Netflix Is a Joke pageant. He’s current when Chappelle is attacked by an armed fan, who rushes onto the stage on the Hollywood Bowl. (The 23-year-old man, Isaiah Lee, was arrested on fees of assault with a lethal weapon and held on $30,000 bail.) “Was that Will Smith?” Rock says into the mic when Lee is apprehended, returning to the stage.
Could 6, 2022: Two nights later, Chappelle and Rock talk about their assaults collectively onstage. “A minimum of you bought smacked by somebody of reputation! I acquired smacked by a homeless man with leaves in his hair,” Chappelle tells Rock. Rock reportedly responds: “I acquired smacked by the softest n—a that ever rapped.”
July 29, 2022: Smith releases a 5-minute-long YouTube apology video addressing Rock, Rock’s mom, and Rock’s brother, Tony Rock. “I’ll say to you, Chris, I apologize to you,” Smith says within the video, on to digital camera. “My habits was unacceptable. And I’m right here everytime you’re prepared to speak.”
That very same day, Rock jokes concerning the slap whereas performing his set at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre.“Everyone is attempting to be a fucking sufferer,” Rock says, in response to Folks. “If everyone claims to be a sufferer, then no person will hear the true victims. Even me getting smacked by Suge Smith”—a reference to incarcerated Dying Row Data cofounder Suge Knight—“I went to work the following day, I acquired youngsters.”
