Chris Rock says Will Smith Oscars Slapgate ‘still hurts’ in Netflix’s comedy special

Chris Rock took his time to address the slapgate that went down during the Oscars last year.

On Saturday night, March 4th, 2023, the comedian performed Netflix’s first-ever live broadcast, a comedy special titled Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, from the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, via People Magazine.

Smith, 54, had hit him onstage at the Academy Awards ceremony on March 27th, 2022, after making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head while presenting an award that night.

“You know what people say, they say, ‘words hurt’,” Rock said. “Anybody that say words hurt has never been punched in the face.”

Earlier in his set, Rock mentioned that he would try not “trigger anyone.”

Later, Rock joked about Snoop Dogg doing commercials, assuring, “I love Snoop, I’m not dissing Snoop,” before adding a reference to Smith without naming him, “The last thing I need is another mad rapper, right?” as the crowd applauded. He then added, “No, back to the show.”

Near the end of the show, Rock addressed the Oscars more in depth.

“I got smacked at the f---ing Oscars by this m----f---er. And people are like, ‘Did it hurt?’”

“It hurt,” Rock bluntly said of “Suge Smith,” mixing the name of the incarcerated Death Row Records boss and the Emancipation actor.

“It still hurts, I got Summertime [song by Will Smith] ringing in my ears, but I’m not a victim,” Rock added with lines that he’s been workshopping on stage for months to various degrees.

“You will never see me on Oprah crying …no. It’s never gonna happen No, f--k this, I took that hit like Pacquiao.”