Comedian Hit by Will Smith a Year Ago: "It Still Hurts"

Chris Rock Opens Up in Netflix Live Show
"I Watched the Movie 'Haebang' to See if Smith Was Right"

Comedian Chris Rock, who had remained silent after being slapped by actor Will Smith at the Oscars one year ago, made a pointed joke.

According to multiple foreign media outlets on the 4th (local time), Chris Rock said during a Netflix comedy live show, "I watched the movie 'Emancipation,' starring Smith, just to see Smith get slapped." He added that he watched the film to cheer, saying, "'Hit him again,' 'You hit the wrong spot,'" while watching Smith play a slave trying to escape in the movie 'Emancipation.'

On March 27 last year, Smith shocked the world by walking onto the stage during the Oscars and slapping Rock hard because Rock made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia. In response, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Oscars, imposed a sanction banning Smith from attending the Oscars for 10 years.

On March 27 last year (local time), Will Smith (right) is slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars ceremony.
[Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

Smith publicly apologized to Rock on Instagram the day after the incident and also posted an apology video in July last year. Due to the assault, the release of the movie 'Emancipation' was delayed and it was only able to premiere in December last year.

During the live show, Rock said, "People ask if it still hurts, and it does," adding, "Will Smith is much bigger than me. He also played Muhammad Ali." Regarding why he did not retaliate against Will Smith at the time, he said, "Do you know what my parents taught me? Not to fight in front of white people."

On the same day, Rock also mentioned Pinkett Smith's past admission of infidelity. Rock joked, "She hurt him much more than he hurt me." He continued, "Everyone knows I did nothing wrong," and claimed that "Will Smith shows 'selective outrage.'"

Rock also mocked Pinkett Smith's past criticism of the Oscars as a "white people's party" and her call for a boycott by Black actors. Rock, who is Black and hosted last year's Oscars, said, "She said that an adult man should quit his job because her husband was not nominated," adding, "She starts it, and I finish it."

That day’s comedy show was Netflix’s first live streaming event.