Chris Rock finally breaks his silence on Will Smith Oscars slap: ‘Hell yeah, it hurt’

The onstage incident during last year’s Academy Awards stunned audiences around the world
Lisa McLoughlin 2 March 2023
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Chris Rock has spoken for the first time about Will Smith slapping him across the face during the 2022 Academy Awards while workshopping material for his forthcoming live Netflix special.

In preparation for his upcoming special, Selective Outrage, the comedian reportedly talked about the incident that dominated much of the headlines last year during a January set in Charleston, South Carolina.

Chris Rock speaks out about Will Smith’s Oscars slap
ES Composite

According to The Wall Street Journal, he said, “The thing people want to know… did it hurt? Hell yeah, it hurt.”

The 58-year-old also referenced Smith’s role in the 2001 film Ali and his 1991 movie New Jack City: “He played Muhammad Ali! I played Pookie!”

The US Sun reported that Rock also quipped, “Even in animated movies, I’m a zebra, he’s a f***ing shark.”

Continuing to make light of the incident, Rock even referenced one of Smith’s classic hits, Summertime, joking, “I got hit so hard I heard Summertime ringing in my ears.”

FILES-US-ENTERTAINMENT-FILM-SMITH-APPLE
Smith slapped Rock onstage during the 94th Oscars last March
AFP via Getty Images

Although the TV star has previously addressed the controversy, he’s never spoken or joked so frankly about it until now.

Rock’s special is set to be streamed live on Netflix on March 4 from Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre, a week before this year’s Academy Awards broadcast March 13.

Last year, Smith’s win for Best Actor award, for his leading role in King Richard, was overshadowed by his behaviour earlier in the ceremony.

Oscars 2022: Will Smith’s Night at the Oscars - In Pictures

US-ENTERTAINMENT-FILM-OSCARS-RED CARPET
1/17

The star stunned the global audience when he got up from his seat during the live broadcast to storm the stage and slap Rock across the face for making a joke at the expense of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, while presenting the award for Best Documentary Feature.

Following the incident, there were some calls for him to return his Oscar.

However, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences instead banned the actor from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years.

He has since apologised several times for his actions.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in