Chris Rock will finally break silence on Will Smith Oscars slap in Netflix special

After mostly keeping quiet about being infamously slapped at last year’s Oscars by Will Smith, Chris Rock is finally set to speak on the incident.

Rock to appear in Netflix special

The comedian will perform a standup special on Netflix on March 4, and according to the streaming platform, Rock will address the slap.

“Chris Rock: Selective Outrage” will stream live on Netflix at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday from the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, a week before this year’s Academy Awards.

Since the incident, Rock has only alluded to the incident in short quips over the past year, but the special will provide him a chance to address it at greater length.

Rock has already tested out material

Rock has already tried out some of his material for audiences during his ‘Ego Death’ tour in the days leading up to the broadcast, and he certainly hasn’t held back when it comes to the jokes, according to the Baltimore Sun.

“Will Smith practices selective outrage,” Rock told fans at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre on February 17. “People who are in the know, know that s--t had nothing to do with me.”

He also said: “He is significantly bigger than me. You will never see me on camera with my shirt off. Will played Muhammad Ali. I played Pookie [in 1991′s ‘New Jack City’].”

Rock also referred to Smith as ‘Suge Smith’, invoking the first name of Death Row Records founder, Marion ‘Suge’ Knight Jr, who is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for voluntary manslaughter following a fatal hit-and-run in 2015.

Rock and Smith’s Oscar incident

The incident known as ‘Slapgate’ took place on March 27, 2022, as Rock was presenting the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

The comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, which initially drew a laugh from her husband Will Smith. Pinkett Smith has revealed that she suffers from alopecia, a medical condition that causes hair loss.

“Jada, I love you,” Rock said during the presentation. “‘G.I. Jane II,’ can’t wait to see it, aight?”

However, Will later began to shout from his seat: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth”. Seconds later, he stomped up to the stage and smacked Rock so hard the impact was audible.