Will Smith is said to be “embarrassed and hurt” by Chris Rock’s decision to base a new Netflix special on their notorious showdown at the 94th annual Academy Awards.
The couple made ceremonial history for all the wrong reasons after Smith took the stage and slapped Rock across the face for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith’s alopecia.
Smith, 54, has since been slapped with a 10-year ban from the awards ceremony, while Rock, who performed at the event in 2022, used the incident as a source of information for his new show of standup, Chris Rock: Selective. Indignation.
At the Hippodrome Theater in Baltimore, ironically Pinkett-Smith’s hometown, Rock, 58, debuted with a series of stinging rebukes directed at the married couple, including a comedic monologue inspired by her extramarital affair with singer August Alsina. .
Sources have since said entertainment tonight that Smith has been deeply affected by the Netflix special and is eager for Rock to “let it slide.”
Outraged: Will Smith is said to be ’embarrassed and hurt’ by Chris Rock’s decision to base a new Netflix special on their notorious showdown at the 94th annual Academy Awards.
Controversy: The couple made history for all the wrong reasons after Smith took the stage and slapped Rock across the face for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith’s alopecia.
While he is reportedly hurt and embarrassed by Selective Outrage, the outlet claims that Smith has yet to see it and has instead been informed of its content by those who have.
Rock accused the Oscar winner of having “selective outrage” during the show’s finale and added insult to injury by repeating Pinkett-Smith’s well-documented infidelity.
But a source close to the comedian tells DailyMail.com it could have been avoided with a simple ‘sorry’.
“Chris never got a private apology from Will, just a public one that didn’t really mean anything,” insisted a source close to the comedian. In fact, Will has only addressed the situation twice: once on Instagram the day after the Oscars and again in a video apology.
But the source insisted that Rock’s decision to repeat the scandal on his Netflix show had nothing to do with seeking revenge, but rather a way for the comedian to “get it all out” and “get it over with.”
Strike Back: Rock has used the incident as source material for his new stand-up show, Chris Rock: Selective Outrage
Calm before the storm: Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith posed for photographers at the 94th Annual Academy Awards, shortly before all hell broke loose
‘Chris wanted to get this out once and for all and be done with it. This was very cathartic for him,” the source added.
The comedian certainly didn’t hold back when it came to unearthing the stage slap scandal.
Instead, she doubled down on her attack on the A-list couple by bringing up Pinkett-Smith’s admitted affair with her son Jaden’s close friend, musician August Alsini, in 2020.
To a shocked audience, both live and on location, Rock said Smith had deflected anger due to the fact that “his wife was banging his son’s friend.”
And to add insult to injury, his humiliating throwback aired exactly one week before the 2023 Oscars take place on March 12, an event Smith is banned from attending for the next ten years as a result of his violent outburst at the ceremony last year.
Shock: Rock looked horrified after being slapped by his former friend Smith at the Academy Awards
Takedown: Rock accused the Oscar winner of having “selective outrage” during the show’s finale and added insult to injury by repeating Pinkett-Smith’s well-documented infidelity.
The infamous slap occurred in March 2022 when Rock took the stage to present an Oscar for best documentary feature.
As for the Smiths, he said he was “waiting” to see Pinkett-Smith on GI Jane, poking fun at his shaved head.
Smith immediately came up on stage and patted Chris on the side of the head. After returning to his front row seat, he yelled, ‘Keep the fucking name of my wife’s mother out of your mouth.’
In the weeks that followed, the actor was forced to resign from the Academy, which subsequently banned him for 10 years.
During his Saturday night stand-up special, Rock shared his afterthoughts, telling the audience, “Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face.” But I’m not a victim, honey. You will never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying.
‘Everyone called him a b**ch, and who is he hitting? Me. You all know what happened to me, when Suge Smith hit me,” he joked. ‘It still hurts. I have “Summertime” ringing in my ears.
Rock then addressed why he didn’t hit Will back, saying, ‘You know what my parents taught me? Don’t fight in front of the whites.