Chris Rock explains why he didn’t hit Will Smith back at Oscars in Netflix special

Chris Rock has revealed the reason why he didn’t hit Will Smith back at the Oscars ceremony last year.

The comedian, 58, addressed the infamous slapgate, which sent shockwaves through Hollywood after the 2022, for the first time, in-depth in his live Netflix special Chris Rock: Selective Outrage on Sunday, March 5.

Sharing his response on he didn’t hit the King Richard actor back, Rock said, “A lot people go, ‘Chris how come you didn’t do nothing back? How come you didn’t do nothing back that night?’”

“Because I got parents, that’s why. Because I was raised,” Rock told the Baltimore Hippodrome Theatre audience.

He added, “And you know what my parents taught me? Don’t fight in front of white people.”

Smith stormed the stage at the 94th Academy Awards after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia.

Elsewhere in the special, Rock also said, “I have rooted for Will Smith my whole life. And now I watch Emancipation just to see him get whipped.”

Smith plays a Louisiana slave in the 2021 drama directed by Antonie Fuqua.