According to reports, Will Smith is feeling embarrassed and hurt by Chris Rock's decision to base his new Netflix special on their infamous clash at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony. The pair made headlines when Smith slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett-Smith's alopecia. This led to Smith being banned from the awards ceremony for ten years.
Rock has used the incident as material for his new stand-up show, Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, and has debuted a series of stinging rebukes aimed at the Smiths, including a comedic monologue inspired by Jada's extra-marital affair with singer August Alsina. While Smith has not watched the show, he is said to have been informed about its content and wants Rock to move on.
Although Rock has accused Smith of having selective outrage during the show's finale, sources close to the comedian claim that the incident could have been avoided if Smith had offered a private apology. Despite this, the insider insists that Rock's decision to rehash the scandal was not about seeking revenge but rather a way for him to get it all out and be done with it.
The incident happened in March 2022, when Rock took the stage to present an Oscar for best documentary feature and made a joke about Jada's shaved head. Smith immediately got up on stage and slapped Rock in the side of the head, resulting in his resignation from the Academy and subsequent ban.
During his stand-up special, Rock addressed the incident and why he didn't hit Smith back, saying that his parents taught him not to fight in front of white people.