The comedian has promised to discuss his reaction to the Oscar incident in this live set. Photo: AFP
Comedian Chris Rock will live-stream a comedy special on Netflix in March 2023, almost exactly a year after he was slapped on stage at the Oscars by actor Will Smith.
Chris Rock: Selective Outrage – the first comedy special that the platform will live-stream in a global event – will premiere on March 4.
Rock, 57, and Smith, 54, made headlines after the infamous slap earlier in 2022, which took place on March 27 after Rock had cracked a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, 50, who had shaved her head due to alopecia.
Smith went on to win a Best Actor award for his role in King Richard (2021), but the onstage assault resulted in his resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a 10-year ban from attending its events.
Rock has since made reference to the incident and joked about it in his shows.
While on his tour of Britain with fellow comedian Dave Chappelle in Liverpool in September, he addressed the moment, saying he was hit for “the nicest joke” he ever told.
In another show in London, he said he would discuss his reaction to the incident in his live Netflix set.
“People expect me to talk about the bulls***, I’m not going to talk about it right now,” he said. “I’ll get to it eventually, on Netflix.”
The upcoming show will be Rock’s second special on Netflix after 2018’s Chris Rock: Tamborine. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
