Chris Rock’s Netflix special Selective Outrage sets Nielsen record for most-streamed in a week

Chris Rock turned lemons into lemonade, and then some.

The 58-year-old comedian’s live Netflix special Selective Outrage — in which he snatched Will Smith about a year after the actor infamously punched him at the Academy Awards — was the most-streamed comedy special in a measured week of March 6-12. according to Nielsen.

Rock’s March 4 appearance on the much-watched set at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theater was the most-streamed comedy special in Nielsen’s six years of tallying. deadline reported.

It peaked 48 percent from its first weekend audience to 798 million minutes watched, the outlet reported, which placed it ninth on Nielsen’s list of streamers for the week.

Rock’s Selective Outrage special eclipsed Dave Chappelle’s Sticks and Stones special, which previously held the record with 573 million minutes watched in a week.

The comedy showcase also ranked in the top four most-streamed comedy specials the week before, despite a limited time frame (24 hours) of availability after debuting on a Saturday, with 418 million minutes watched, the outlet reported.

In the special, Rock didn’t pull a fist in his reply to Smith, referring to his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s publicly stated extramarital affair with singer August Alsina, and Smith’s cowardice in directing his anger at him, a much smaller target.

Said Rock, “His wife fucked her son’s boyfriend…she hurt him way more than he hurt me.” I normally wouldn’t talk about this s*** but for some reason this one [people] put that crap on the internet – i have no idea why two talented people would do such a damn low thing, what the f***?’

Rock noted that “everyone” called Smith ab**** and “they called his wife a predator” amidst the controversy, “and who did he hit?” Me!’

The Oscars exchange between Smith and Rock occurred after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, saying, “Jada, I love you, GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see it!”

The reference was to the 1997 film in which Demi Moore had a shaved head. (Pinkett Smith, 51, has been diagnosed with alopecia, which causes hair loss.)

The Philadelphia-born actor then walked onstage and punched Rock, then went back to his seat and yelled at him twice, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!” to a stunned audience.

Later that evening — in his acceptance speech after winning the Best Actor Oscar for his role as tennis patriarch Richard Williams in King Richard — Smith apologized to the Academy and other nominees, but made no reference to Rock.

Smith subsequently apologized for the incident on multiple occasions and resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences before receiving a 10-year ban from the Oscars.

In an apology he made in July about the incident in an online clip, Smith said his wife had “nothing to do with” his attack on Rock.

“I made my own choice from my own experiences, from my history with Chris,” he said. “I want to say sorry to my children and my family for the heat I have caused us all.”

He added: “I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk, and when he is he’ll get in touch. So I’ll say to you, Chris, I apologize. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here if you want to talk.’

In February, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that it had established a crisis team ahead of the March 12 ceremony this year.

“Because of last year, we opened our minds to the many things that can happen at the Oscars,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer. TIME.

Kramer said the institution has implemented the organization of a group focused on dealing with emergencies during the annual event.

He said: ‘We have a whole crisis team, something we’ve never had before, and there are a lot of plans. We ran many scenarios. So we hope that we will be prepared for anything that we may not be anticipating now, but that we plan in case it does happen.”

Kramer said the return of Jimmy Kimmel as host – the late night star who previously appeared in 2017 and 2018 – added an extra layer of protection by having an experienced entertainer at the helm of the show.

“That’s why you want someone like Jimmy on stage who’s used to dealing with live TV: things don’t always go as planned,” Kramer said. “So you have a host who can really pivot and manage those moments…because of last year, we opened our minds to the many things that can happen at the Oscars.”

Kramer said Academy officials could have “acted more quickly” in their responses to the incident involving Smith and Rock, both on the night of the show and in the aftermath.

“This is really our response after the show, and how we talked about it, and how we talked to Will and Chris, and our hosts and our members,” he said. “It was a moment to really bring people together.”