'Selective Outrage': Most explosive comments made by Chris Rock
In his Netflix special Selective Outrage, comedian Chris Rock took aim at Will Smith for his behavior and actions at last year's Academy Awards, which is still etched in the audiences' memories. On Saturday, in a 70-minute-long standup routine, the actor-comedian not only addressed the infamous "slap controversy" but also joked about several other things, including famous personalities Meghan Markle and the Kardashians.
Why does this story matter?
Rock has been part of the comedy culture in the West for three decades now. He started his career as a standup comedian and rose to prominence as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1993. Rock scripted history with his comedy special Selective Outrage on Saturday which marked the first global live-stream event on Netflix.
'It still hurts': Rock responded to the slap
At the 94th Academy Awards, Smith took to the stage and slapped Rock, when the latter joked about his wife. After keeping mum for a year, the comedian opened up by saying, "Anybody that says words hurt has never been punched in the face! People are like, 'Did it hurt?' It still hurts! I got Summertime ringing in my ears"—referring to Smith's 1991 single.
Rock explained the reason for not fighting back
After the disgraceful incident happened, everyone appreciated Rock for keeping his calm. In his special, during the end, he explained the reason for not fighting back. He said, "Will Smith is significantly bigger than me, we are not the same size." "I got parents! Because I was raised! And you know what my parents taught me? Don't fight in front of white people."
Rock poked fun at Markle's royal family racism claims
In his explosive outrage, Rock took a dig at Markle, too. He candidly joked that most of the stuff that the Duchess of Sussex revealed during her interviews wasn't really racism but just "in-laws sh**." Further, he said, "If you are Black and you wanted to be accepted by your white in-laws then you need to marry a Kardashian because they accept everybody."
'She hurt him way more than he hurt me…'
Rock poked fun at Jada Pinkett-Smith's entanglement with August Alsina while she and Smith were briefly separated years ago. He quipped, "We all been cheated on. Everybody in this industry has been cheated on, but, none of us have ever been interviewed by the person that cheated on us on television." He further quipped, "She hurt him way more than he hurt me, OK?"
