““Ya’ll know what happened to me, getting slapped by Suge Smith … People are like, ‘Did it hurt?’ It still hurts! I got ‘Summertime’ ringing in my ears.” ”
That was Chris Rock addressing The Slap. It’s been almost a year since the Oscar slap that shocked the world, and Rock came back swinging at Will Smith during his live Netflix special. (Verbally, that is.) Netflix
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streamed its first-ever live event, “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage,” on Saturday night. Rock, 58, has largely kept quiet about the incident at last year’s Oscars ceremony, when Smith responded to a joke Rock cracked about the “Ali” actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, by walking onstage and slapping Rock across the face. But Rock’s hotly anticipated live special didn’t pull any punches.
He took his time, seeming to reference “the slap” a few times early in the set — such as a bit about people getting too offended by things that other people say. “Anyone who says ‘words hurt’ has never been punched in the face,” he said — drawing a big laugh. “Words hurt when you write ’em on a brick, OK?” And after he cracked jokes about artists Snoop Dogg and Jay-Z, he was quick to add that he meant no offense. “The last thing I need is another mad rapper,” he said more than once during the set.
And a little later, when doing a joke about the four easiest ways to get attention, he listed being a victim as the fourth one. He broke the fourth wall, adding “Ooh, where is he going with this?” as the audience tittered, likely expecting him to segue into the Oscar slap next. Look back: What just happened?!? Will Smith slaps Chris Rock over Oscars joke about his wife They had to wait a bit, as Rock saved the Smith stuff for the end of his set. He spent the last 10 minutes or so discussing the slap, and using some of the mat …