Chris Rock has been polishing up his material about the infamous Oscars slap, and it seems the people aren’t here for his slavery jokes about Will Smith in the film, Emancipation. Find out what Chris said that has folks up in arms inside….
Chris Rock is ruffling feathers ahead of his Netflix comedy special.
Chris Rock’s ”Selective Outrage” comedy special is set to stream live and unedited on Netflix at 10pm EST, marking the first-ever global event on the streaming platform. It’s his first stand-up special since last year’s Oscars, where Will Smith shocked the world when he slapped Chris in the face for joking about his wife’s bald head.
As he gears up for his upcoming Netflix special, Chris Rock has been testing out some biting new material about the infamous Oscars incident during his “Ego Death” tour.
During a recent show at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore (a few weeks ago), the 58-year-old comedian didn’t hold back when he took aim at Will Smith’s “selective outrage.”
“People who are in the know, know that sh*t had nothing to do with me,” he told the crowd. And he didn’t stop there, joking about their physical differences.
“He is significantly bigger than me. You will never see me on camera with my shirt off. Will played Muhammad Ali. I played Pookie [in 1991’s ‘New Jack City’].”
During his set at the Comedy Cellar in Manhattan earlier this week, Chris admitted to “hate watching” Will’s movie Emancipation, where he plays a slave, “Whipped Peter,” who was tortured by slave masters.
“I rooted for Will my whole life. The other day, I watched ‘Emancipation’ just so I could watch him getting whipped,” he said.
Everyone isn’t finding the humor in his jokes. Similar to the reaction to the Oscars slap, the joke has sparked mixed opinions on Twitter, with numerous individuals engaging in the conversation. Peep the dueling reactions below:
Chris Rock can make all the jokes he wants about Will Smith, but making a joke saying “I only watched Emancipation to see Will Smith get whipped” in a room of predominantly white people is disgusting.
— (@rayethequeen) March 3, 2023
I think that’s kinda funny what Chris Rock said. And by the way, I ain’t watching Emancipation. Many are not ready to let Will Smith redeem himself. We are still traumatized from that stupid thing we had to see that he did on TV.
— Sylvia (@Sylvia53992032) March 4, 2023
Chris Rock “joked” about watching Emancipation to watch Will Smith get whipped. Almost a full year after HE made fun of his wife’s illness? Remind why fucking SLAPPING was the worse thing to do in this situation?
— Clifford Batteau (@CliffordBatteau) March 3, 2023
This is the Chris Rock who said he watched “Emancipation” to see Will Smith to get whipped. He’s not a hero and shouldn’t be made out to be one https://t.co/AcRObeiDry
— (@exavierpope) March 4, 2023
Chris Rock watched emancipation to watch Will Smith get whipped cause he’s too small to do it himself. I said what I said. #ProtectWillSmith #NowDoTheOtherSideWill
— La Condesa Del Bochinche (@lilcoqui84) March 4, 2023
Chris Rock is a clown. So corny and wack. This is why I will ALWAYS stand with Will Smith.
— (@MJFINESSELOVER) March 3, 2023
So Chris Rock said he only watched “Emancipation” was to see Will Smith get whipped. So you enjoyed him get beat like a slave?!? Nobody is concern that Chris is the same mfer that loves pandering to the Flour Rangers. pic.twitter.com/I0nPwOPlQq
— – In The Paradise Room at The Pynk (@itsKayology) March 4, 2023
I don’t even like Chris Rock but I feel he has a right to talk about Will in his standup… but that Emancipation joke is so fucking tone deaf and disgusting. Quickly reminded me why I always thought he was a sellout. Trash. https://t.co/cXIw5BCPQR
— Problematic Panda DreamCon (@NopeNotEbs) March 2, 2023
Will Smith was wrong for the slap. Chris Rock was wrong for the Emancipation joke. We’re all human and do something stupid at least twice a day. 4 times if you’re me (especially if you share an opinion about something on Twitter). pic.twitter.com/oUmdmkvDAY
— WhitneyAsante (@WhitneyAsante) March 3, 2023
Meanwhile…
As news about Chris’ jokes surfaced, Will Smith, who has been banned from the Oscars gala and Academy events for 10 years, attended the African American Film Critics Association Awards in Beverly Hills to accept the Beacon Award alongside director Antoine Fuqua. It was the actor’s first awards show appearance since the Oscars slap last year.
“‘Emancipation’ was the individual most difficult film of my entire career. It was all outdoors, that is true,” Will joked, per Variety.
During his speech, Will recounted a story about a white actor spitting on him multiple times during an improvised moment. However, he expressed his gratitude that Antoine requested another take without the actor spitting on him. The Hollywood actor exclaimed to the audience, “In that moment, I knew that God was real.”
Wow.
Check out more photos from the AAFCA Awards below:
“Chris Rock: Selective Outrage” airs live tonight at 10pm EST on Netflix. Will you be tuning in?
Photo: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello/Arnold Turner/Eclipse Content/aafca
