A year after the slap at the Oscars, Chris Rock takes his revenge on Will Smith

UPDATE DAY

Chris Rock has finally addressed the slap in the face of Will Smith at the 2022 Oscars.

At last year's ceremony, Will Smith took to the stage and hit the comedian. The latter had made a joke comparing his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia, to G.I. Jane.

While Chris Rock has remained discreet about the incident for almost a year, he took to his Selective Outrage show in Baltimore, airing on Netflix on Saturday night, to discuss Will Smith's shocking behavior.

“They say: 'words hurt'. Anyone who says 'words hurt' has never been punched in the face,” he began, before indicating that he had no desire to discuss the incident on a talk show. p>

“I am not a victim. You'll never see me on Oprah [Winfrey] or Gayle [King] crying. You'll never see it… It'll never happen […] I took it like [Manny] Pacquiao. Will Smith is significantly taller than me. We are not the same size […] Will Smith played Muhammad Ali in a film. Do you think I auditioned for this role?»

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The comedian went on to claim that Will Smith practiced “selective outrage”. 

Chris Rock did indeed recall Will Smith's reaction to the fact that Jada Pinkett Smith reveals, during an episode of Red Table Talk in July 2020, that she had a relationship with August Alsina in 2016 while estranged from him. 

At the time, she described this relationship as a “entanglement” or “entanglement” in French.

“Anyone who really knows knows I had nothing to do with this shit. I had no entanglement. His wife was fucking her son's friend. Normally, I wouldn't talk about that. I don't know why two talented people would do something so low. We have all been victims of infidelity. Everyone here has been deceived. None of us have ever been interviewed by the person who cheated on us on television… She hurt him more than he hurt me,” he continued.

Chris Rock then mentioned that he tried to call Will Smith after the episode aired. “I tried to call this man and offer him my condolences. He didn't pick up. Everyone called his wife a female dog… And who did he hit? Me.”

As to why he didn't retaliate to the slap, Chris Rock said it was down to his upbringing. “Because I have parents, that's why. I was raised. Do you know what my parents taught me? Don't fight in front of white people,” he concluded.

Will Smith has largely avoided public attention since the incident. He apologized to Academy members and peers during his Best Actor acceptance speech during the ceremony and wrote a lengthy apology on Instagram the following day.

L The 54-year-old actor later resigned from the Academy, which also banned him from any Oscar-related events for 10 years.