Chris Rock’s Netflix special hit back at Will Smith, but a fumble was ruled out
Chris Rock accused Will Smith of “selective outrage” in his latest special, but it seems Netflix has been selective about the comedian’s performance.
Days after Rock’s stand-up comedy special “Selective Outrage” debuted on Sunday, Netflix removed one of the comedian’s less than smooth jokes from the set, according to various reports.
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According to the Hollywood Reporter, Rock knew about the edit and worked with Netflix for the final cut.
Netflix displays a caption stating that the special was “streamed live and edited.”
The joke in question was one in which the “Madagascar” star apparently confused two of Smith’s dramas. For the joke, Rock recalled his performance as host at the 2016 Oscars and the #OscarsSoWhite controversy surrounding the annual awards show.
Jada Pinkett Smith said in 2016 that she would boycott the Oscars since only white artists were nominated in all four acting categories. According to Rock, the “Matrix Revolutions” star tried to convince him to do the same.
“His wife said he should give up on the Oscars. She shouldn’t be presenting because her man wasn’t nominated for ‘Emancipation.’ The biggest piece of s— ever,’” she said on the live edit.
Will Smith’s “Emancipation” was not released until 2022. Rock intended to reference Smith’s 2015 film “Concussion.” During the live show, Rock noticed his misstep and corrected himself. The current version of Netflix seems to have fixed the problem completely.
“Years ago, his wife said that he should give up on the Oscars. She shouldn’t be a host. She said (you) should quit because Will wasn’t nominated for ‘Concussion,'” Rock said. “What the hell?”
According to Rock and his special, Pinkett Smith “started this m-.
“Nobody messed with her. She said that I, a grown man, should resign from her job because her husband was not nominated for ‘Concussion,’” she continued. “And then (he) gives me a concussion. What the hell, man?
“Selective Outrage” was the first time Rock had spoken at length about Smith’s infamous slap at the 2022 Oscars. The comedian devoted the final part of his special to criticizing the Smiths and their recent history of controversy.
“Will Smith practices selective outrage. Everybody knows what the hell happened. Everyone who really knows, knows I had nothing to do with that shit,” Rock said.