- By Chelsea Bailey
- BBC News, Washington
image source, Getty Images
American comedian Chris Rock is tired of talking regarding Will Smith’s infamous slap at the Oscars, but he wants to make one thing clear: It hurt.
Rock, 58, elaborated on the incident that occurred during the ceremony in Hollywood in 2022, during a special comedy program that he presented live.
“You know what people say, ‘words hurt,'” Rock said. “Anyone who says words hurt has never had a fist punched in the face.”
Since the incident, Will Smith has excused himself by saying that the anger that he had “bottled up” led him to act like this.
The confrontation became a cultural focus of debate regarding Americans’ appetite for casual violence, following Smith was allowed to remain at the ceremony where he later accepted the Best Actor Oscar, the first of his career.
Rock was praised for keeping his composure following the incident..
In his routine titled Chris Rock: Selective Fury – the first comedy show ever broadcast live on Netflix – the comedian addressed a wide range of topics, including “woke” culture, Meghan Markle and politics.
“I’m going to try to put on the show without offending anybody,” he said, alluding to the altercation with Smith. “Because you never know who you might provoke.”
He then added that the United States “is so fucked up that if the Russians got here today, half the country would say ‘let’s hear what he has to say.'”
Dealing with pain through laughter
image source, Getty Images
The slap had more to do with relationship problems between Smith and his wife, Jada, Chris Rock said.
“People say things like, ‘Did it hurt?’ It still hurts! I have the subject Summertime ringing in my ears,” Rock said, referring to the song Smith recorded in 1991.
“I took that punch like (Manny) Pacquiao,” the comedian boasted to the cheers of the audience.
Referring to the show’s title, Rock said he believes Smith practices “selective rage” and that the slap had more to do with the marital problems of Smith and his wifeJada, that with the joke you made during the Oscars.
The couple have been open regarding the ups and downs of their relationship, including publicly addressing their difficulties on Jada’s Facebook Watch show called Red Table Talk.
“We’ve all been cuckolded, everyone here has been cuckolded, but none of us have ever been interviewed on television by the person who cuckolded us,” Rock joked. “She caused him much more pain than he caused me.”
Social media was abuzz with reactions that Rock had finally addressed the incident, with many comments pointing out how the artists like Rock frequently deal with pain through laughter.
Others opined that the comedian went too far with the jokes he made regarding siding with the slave owners in the recent Will Smith film, Emancipation.
In the climactic moment with which Rock ended his special, Rock explained why he chose not to respond with aggression.
“I have parents! Because they raised me!” Rock expressed. “And you know what my parents taught me? Don’t fight in front of white people.”
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