When the history of live television is written, there will be a chapter dedicated to the 2022 Oscars. Hosted by comedian Chris Rock, the show rumbled along, handing out awards to all sorts of rubbish films (who remembersCODA?) but then, suddenly, it sparked to life. Will Smith, moments away from winning Best Actor, walked onto the stage and slapped Rock. “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!” Smith roared after returning to his seat, launching a thousand memes and now, a year on, Rock’s revenge tour.
His new special, Selective Outrage, was broadcast live on Netflix, and marked the first time the comic has spoken about the 94th Academy Awards at length. But we’ll come to that. Rock is a swaggering, charismatic, era-defining comedian. He saunters around the stage like he owns it. At 58, he has never been more confident or relaxed, even if he does appear to be powered by Botox. He knows who he is, and the audience does too. “I didn’t get rich and stay in shape to talk about Anita Baker,” he informs them, in a riff about age-gap dating. “I’m trying to f*** Doja Cat.” Other cultural targets range from Lululemon and Subaru to SoulCycle and Burger King. He gets rounds of applause for his daughter and mother, anxious murmurs when he talks about Meghan Markle, and excited whispers when rappers, from Snoop Dogg to Jay-Z, are referenced.
