Chris Rock Addresses Will Smith Slap In Netflix Special, Reveals Why He Didn't Retaliate

Chris Rock finally said his piece about Will Smith and the controversial Oscars slap during the comedian's live Netflix comedy special, "Selective Outrage," over the weekend.

Rock was on stage to present the Academy Award for best documentary feature on March 27, 2022, when he noticed Jada Pinkett Smith in the audience and joked about her bald head. Her husband then stormed the stage and smacked Rock across the face, leaving attendees and viewers shocked.

While performing at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland, Saturday night, Rock said he doesn't consider himself a "victim" despite the incident.

"I am not a victim. You will never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying. Never going to happen ... I took that hit like [boxer Manny] Pacquiao. I took it like motherf---ing Pacquiao. Did it hurt? Yeah motherf---er, it hurt," he said during his show, The Guardian reported.

Rock also argued against reports that he and Smith were fighting, pointing out that he was no match for the Oscar winner in terms of body size.

"Will Smith is significantly bigger than me. He does movies with his shirt off! You've never seen me do a movie with my shirt off. If I'm in a movie getting open heart surgery, I've got on a sweater. Will Smith played Muhammed Ali in a movie! You think I auditioned for that part? I played Pookie in 'New Jack City,'" Rock joked.

Rock said that the slap had inspired the name of his new comedy special.

"Will Smith practices selective outrage. Everybody knows what the f--k happened. And everybody really knows I had nothing to do with that s--t. I didn't have any 'entanglements,'" he continued, referring to Pinkett Smith's description of the affair she had with singer August Alsina while married to Smith.

The comedian went on to take aim at the couple's marriage and Pinkett Smith's viral July 2020 interview with her husband on her show "Red Table Talk," where she opened up about her affair.

"Everybody in here has been cheated on. None of us have ever been interviewed by the person that cheated on us on television ... She hurt him way more than he hurt me," Rock said, joking that he tried to call Smith afterward to "give him my condolences" but that the actor didn't pick up.

"Everybody called that man a b--ch ... and who's he hit? Me," he continued, prompting the audience to laugh. "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 comedian ended his show by explaining why he didn't hit Smith back on stage at the Oscars immediately after the slap. He credited his parents for his self-control.

"A lot of people go, 'Chris, how come you didn't do nothing back?' Because I've got parents! That's why. Because I was raised. You know what my parents taught me? Don't fight in front of white people!" he said before throwing his microphone to the ground to end his show.

Smith has reached out to Rock and issued multiple public apologies since the incident. In July 2022, he posted a video on his YouTube, Instagram and Facebook accounts addressing the incident.

"I've reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he's not ready to talk, and when he is he will reach out," Smith said in the video. "So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk."

However, an unnamed source told Entertainment Tonight the following month that Rock had no plans to reach out to the "King Richard" star.

"Chris Rock: Selective Outrage" will be available for streaming on Netflix following the live event.