We can’t believe it either – but it’s been almost one year since the infamous Will Smith slap against Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, a night that left an indelible mark on the I Am Legend actor’s career and the future of American award ceremonies.
Both Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith – who was the butt of a joke that caused Smith to slap Rock while presenting an award that night – have since spoken up about the controversial incident, but it wasn’t until earlier this week that Chris Rock has decided to tell a couple of jokes about the slap on his latest comedy special.
In the last 10 minutes of Netflix’s Selective Outrage, the Everybody Hates Chris comedian addressed the slap by bantering “Will Smith practices selective outrage,” he quipped. “Years ago, his wife said I should quit the Oscars ’cause her man didn’t get nominated for Concussion. And then her husband f*cking gives me a concussion… She starts it, I finish it. Nobody’s picking on this b*tch.”
Pinkett Smith hasn’t spoken up about the joke, although a source close to the Set It Off star said that Rock is exuding nothing more than pure obsession.
“Jada has had no part in all of this other than being heckled,” the insider told People Monday. “Chris is obsessed with her and that’s been going on for almost 30 years… Look where he chose to film his Netflix special. Her hometown [of Baltimore]. Obsessed.”
At the time the slap took place, Smith did address the issue stating that he just wanted everyone to put the incident behind them.
“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,” he wrote in an Instagram post days after the slap. “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally. I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
He continued: I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us. I am a work in progress.”
And in July, Pinkett Smith addressed the issue as well. “Now, about Oscar night, my deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “The state of the world today, we need them both. And we all actually need one other more than ever. Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years, and that’s keep figuring this thing called life together.”
