Will Smith is said to have been left reeling after Chris Rock chose to base a Netflix special on his now infamous Oscars slap.
The actor, 54, received a 10-year ban from the prestigious award show after striking Rock across the face during last year’s ceremony for making an insensitive joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from the autoimmune disease alopecia, which causes hair loss.
Rock has now used the incident as a basis for his latest stand-up special with the streaming giant, which dropped a week before this year’s Academy Awards is due to take place.
The new material in Chris Rock: Selective Outrage also includes other stinging remarks about Smith and his wife, including her extramarital affair with August Alsina.
The couple both discussed the actress’s “entanglement” during an episode of her Facebook show Red Table Talk back in 2020.
A source told Entertainment Tonight that Smith has been deeply affected by the Netflix show and has called for Rock to “let it go”.
Despite reportedly being hurt and embarrassed, the outlet claims Smith is yet to actually watch Rock’s special and has instead been informed of its content by those who have.
According to the Daily Mail, the whole thing could have been avoided if Smith had simply apologised directly to Rock.
A source close to Rock told the publication: “Chris never got a one-on-one private apology from Will, only the public one which really meant nothing.”
The insider went on to tell the publication that Rock’s decision to rehash the scandal in his Netflix show had nothing to do with seeking revenge.
It was a way for the comedian to “get it all out” and “be done with it”.
