Chris Rock Addresses Oscars Slap in Netflix Comedy Special 'Selective Outrage'
Chris Rock Netflix Comedy Special: Selective Outrage
By: Joshua Martin
Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for!!
It's been almost a year since the infamous Oscars slap that stunned the entire entertainment world and had social media in an uproar for almost a week afterwards. Thousands of think pieces surfaced about toxic masculinity, protecting your spouse from an verbal assault and also when joking goes too far.
On March 4th, With the entire world eagerly anticipating Chris Rock’s response, he finally addressed what really happened in his Netflix Live Comedy Special: SELECTIVE OUTRAGE. In this special Rock dives into how his life has changed since the incident, the Kardashains, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, abortion, cancel culture and more.
“Y’all know what happened to me, getting smacked by Suge Smith.” “It still hurts. I got ‘Summertime’ ringing in my ears.”
Despite an immense amount of pressure to open up, Rock was adamant on his stance of not being a victim. Declining to go on national talk shows to dissect the incident.
“But I’m not a victim, baby.” “You’ll never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying. You will never see it. Never gonna happen. … No, I took that hit like [Manny] Pacquiao.”
Broadcasting live from Baltimore at the Hippodrome Theatre, the actor/comedian later revealed that the title of the special was inspired by the slap. Proceeding to berate the Smith’s and their highly publicized relationship.
“But Will Smith practices selective outrage.” “‘Cause everybody knows what the fuck happened. Everybody that really knows, knows I had nothing to do with that shit. I didn’t have any entanglements”
Alluding to the “Red Table Talk” episode featuring Will and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, where she admitted to having an affair. Continuing, Rock added he tried to reach out to Smith, saying that, “She hurt him way more than he hurt me.”
Dressed in all white wearing a Prince necklace, Rock explained why he decided not to do anything after the slap. “Because I got parents. I was raised. And you know what my parents taught me? Don’t fight in front of white people.”
Smith apologized via an instagram post a day after the Oscars and later an additional apology on camera.
Did Chris Rock’s stand up comedy special Selective Outrage live up to the hype??
While not holding up to the standards that Rock has set throughout his career, check out BIGGER and BLACKER - 1999, Selective Outrage deserves a 6 out of 10. With “10” being Eddie’s Delirious or peak Pryor/Bernie and “1” being anything Dane Cook.
Stuttering on a key joke, misplacing Concussion with Emancipation, and the barrage of B-words thrown at the Smith’s will leave a sour taste in your mouth. Also identifying as “BROKE” despite being incredibly rich.
In his biggest public performance since ‘22, Rock did what only a handful of comedians have the ability to do. Take a horrific, traumatizing situation and make light of it for the sake of comedy.
YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:
Meet Joshua Martin, Senior Video Editor for 247 Live Culture!
Email: Joshua@247LCTV.com