'I am not a victim, baby': Why Chris Rock did not respond to Will Smith's infamous Oscar slap
2 min read . Updated: 05 Mar 2023, 04:03 PM IST
Premium- The Will Smith–Chris Rock slapping incident took place during the 94th Academy Awards on 27 March 2022, when actor Will Smith walked onstage and slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face during Rock's presentation for Best Documentary Feature
While another Oscar awards ceremony knocks on the door, Chris Rock has finally opened up about the incident during Oscar 2022 that kept people talking for months to come - Will Smith walking up to stage and slapping Chris Rock for a joke on Smith's wife- Jada Pinkett Smith.
In a first of Netflix's first live global streaming event, Chris Rock, made Netflix history when he said, “I’m going to try to do a show tonight without offending nobody. I’m going to try my best, because you never know who might get triggered. People always say words hurt … anybody who says words hurt has never been punched in the face."
In a quick recap, the Will Smith–Chris Rock slapping incident took place during the 94th Academy Awards on 27 March 2022, when actor Will Smith walked onstage and slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face during Rock's presentation for Best Documentary Feature.
The slap was in response to Rock's joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head, which she had been shaving since 2021 due to alopecia areata. Smith returned to his seat and shouted, "Keep my wife's name out your fucking mouth!" at Rock twice, who briefly responded, then completed his presentation without further interruption.
Later that evening, Smith won Best Actor and apologized to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and other nominees, but not to Rock, in his acceptance speech.
During the Netflix special, Rock said, “You all know what happened to me, getting smacked by Shug Smith," Rock said. “It still hurts. I got ‘Summertime’ ringing in my ears. But I’m not a victim, baby. You’ll never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying … I took that hit like Pacquiao."
Rock suggested Smith’s response to his Oscars joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, was more about their relationship than him.
“I love Will Smith, my whole life," Rock said. “I have rooted for Will Smith my whole life … now I watch ‘Emancipation’ just to see him get whooped."
Smith plays an enslaved man in the period drama, “Emancipation."
“‘How come you didn’t do nothing back that night?’" Rock said people have asked him. “Because I got parents. You know what my parents taught me? Don’t fight in front of White people."
Titled “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage," the comedian hit on a wide range of topics in the first 50 minutes of the special, including addiction, abortion, racism in America, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, the Kardashian family and “wokeness."
“I have no problem with the wokeness. I have no problem with it at all. I’m all for social justice. I’m all for marginalized people getting their rights. The thing I have a problem with is the selective outrage," Rock said. “You know what i’m talking about. One person does something, they get canceled. Somebody else does the exact same thing, nothing. You know what I’m talking about … the kind of people who play Michael Jackson songs but won’t play R. Kelly. Same crime, one of them just has better songs."
The performance was Rock’s sixth standup special and his second for Netflix after 2018’s “Tamborine," directed by Bo Burnham.
The 95th Academy Awards will be presented on 12 March 2023, in a ceremony held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.