Chris Rock accused Will Smith of “selective outrage” in his latest special, but it seems Netflix has been selective with the comedian’s performance.
Days after Rock’s stand-up comedy special “Selective Outrage” debuted Sunday, Netflix has edited out one of the comedian’s less-than-smooth jokes from the set, according to several reports.
A source familiar with the production told the L.A. Times on Friday that Rock and Netflix agreed on the final cut and that such edits are common for comedy specials. Netflix also displays a caption noting that the special was “streamed live and edited” in its current iteration.
The joke in question was one where the “Madagascar” star seemingly confused two of Smith’s dramas. For the joke, Rock recalled his 2016 Oscars hosting gig and the #OscarsSoWhite controversy surrounding the annual awards show.
Jada Pinkett Smith said in 2016 she’d boycott the Oscars given that only white performers were nominated in the four acting categories. According to Rock, the “Matrix Revolutions” star tried to convince him to do the same.
“His wife said I should quit the Oscars. I shouldn’t host because her man didn’t get nominated for ‘Emancipation.’ The biggest piece of s— ever,’” he said in the live edition.
Will Smith’s “Emancipation” wasn’t released until 2022. Rock meant to reference Smith’s 2015 film “Concussion.” During the live show Rock realized his misstep and corrected himself. Netflix’s current version seems to have worked over the stumble entirely.
“Years ago, his wife said I should quit the Oscars. I shouldn’t host. She f— said [you] should quit ‘cause Will didn’t get nominated for ‘Concussion,’” Rock said. “What the f—.”
According to Rock and his special, Pinkett Smith “started this s—.
“Nobody was picking on her. She said me, a grown-ass man, should quit his job because her husband didn’t get nominated for ‘Concussion,’” he continued. “And then [he] gives me a concussion. What the f—, man?”
“Selective Outrage” was the first time Rock spoke out at length about Smith’s infamous slap at the 2022 Oscars. The comedian dedicated the final portion of his special to taking shots at the Smiths and their recent history of controversy.
“Will Smith practices selective outrage. Everybody knows what the f— happened. Everybody who really knows, knows I had nothing to do with that s—,” Rock said.
———
