It's been about a year since the famous encounter between Chris Rock and Will Smith, which more or less ended with the former receiving a deafening slap following an "insensitive" joke he made about Jada Pinkett Smith.
Rock is turning his misery into major cash in his Netflix stand-up special. He addressed the issue and more news involving the Smiths.
Keep reading for more details.
Rock began the segment by refreshing the audience's memory about the huge slap he got from Smith.
"You all know what happened to me, getting smacked by 'Suge' Smith, everybody knows, everybody f--king knows. I got smacked like a year ago…."
The comedian revealed that his ears still hurt from the slap.
"And people are like ‘Did it hurt?’ It still hurts. I got ‘Summertime’ ringing in my ears.”
Rock, however, stated that he wouldn't be pushed to the point of talking about it in a sit-down with any of the talk show queens.
“I’m not a victim baby, you will never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying. You will never see it…. It’s never going to happen. F--k that s--t, I took that s--t like Pacquiao."
Quite the talent, he likened his encounter that night to a similar situation between David and Goliath, especially in regard to their size.
“First of all, I know you can’t tell on camera but Will Smith is significantly bigger than me. We are not the same size. Will Smith does movies with his shirt off. You ain’t never seen me do a movie with my shirt off. I’m in a movie getting open-heart surgery, I’ve got on a sweater."
He continued his banter.
“Will Smith played Muhammad Ali in a movie. Do you think I auditioned for that part? He played Muhammad Ali, I played Pookie in New Jack City.”
Rock accused Smith of practicing selective outrage and that it had nothing to do with his joke about his wife.
“Will Smith practices selective outrage. Everybody knows what the fuck happened. And everybody really knows I had nothing to do with that shit. I didn’t have any ‘entanglements."
The actor also dissed Jada Smith on her affair with August Alsina and her decision to speak on it publicly with her husband.
Rock described Jada's decision as hurtful and claimed she hurt Will with her actions.
"We’ve all been cheated on, everybody in here been cheated on. None of us has ever been interviewed by the person who cheated on us on television… Why the f--k would you do that s--t? She hurt [Will] way more than he hurt me."
He continued roasting Smith by calling him a b***ch who would rather intimidate him with a beat down than address the major issue.
"Everybody called [Will] a bitch. And who’s he hit? Me! A n**** he know he can beat. That’s some bitch ass sh--!”
Rock praised his parent's wise counsel and guidance, which helped him restrain from striking Will after he slapped him.
"...because I’ve got parents! And you know what my parents taught me? Don’t fight in front of white people!”
Rock disclosed that he admired Smith's talent and has long enjoyed his works.
“I loved Will Smith, my whole life I loved him. I saw him open for Run DMC … he has made some great movies. I have rooted for Will Smith my whole life. And now I watch Emancipation just to see him get whooped.”
The veteran rounded up the segment by correcting the notion that words hurt. Well, they do, but if you've ever been slapped by Will Smith, as in Rock's case, you'd know better.
"They say, words hurt. You gotta watch what you say because words hurt. Anybody who says words hurt has never been punched in the face."
The couple candidly discussed and divulged details of their marriage in an episode of Jada's Red Table Talk in 2020 after news of her affair with Alsina broke out.
Jada revealed they connected when Jaden Smith introduced a sick Alsina to the family. At that time, the 23-year-old needed all the love, support, and help he could get, and the Smiths were very instrumental in that.
The Girls Trip actress confirmed that they became more than friends and grew into an "entanglement." When asked to define it in clearer terms by Will, Jada named it a relationship.
The couple quickly added that when Jada stepped out of their marriage, they were going through a rough patch, and Will admitted he couldn't "stand" Jada. Through the entanglement, Jada discovered true happiness is from within.
The actress also issued a disclaimer against Alsina's claims that Will smith blessed the relationship. Jada confirmed that only she could permit herself to do whatever she wanted.
Despite all the rumors, truths, and confessions in their marriage, the pair have stayed together for over 25 years. They tied the knot in 1997 and shared two children, Jaden and Willow.
As for Will and Rock's case, the Men In Black actor was fined a 10-year ban from any Academy-related event and has since apologized to Rock at different points for the slap.
