Chris Rock got everything he wanted to say about the Will Smith slap at the 94th annual Academy Awards off his chest during his Netflix special.
On Saturday, the 58-year-old comedian performed his Selective Outrage stand-up special in Baltimore, live on Netflix, where he addressed the incident involving Smith a year later.
Selective Outrage has been a long time coming. A source tells ET, Rock was focused on the comedy special for the past year and his hard work paid off and he can now “relax.”
“Everyone was very happy with how it turned out,” the source says, adding that Rock was “in his element and was calm and comfortable onstage.”
The source noted that the special was a “big deal” not only because it was a live event, but because it was the first time that Rock publicly addressed “the slap” in a meaningful way. Now, the Saturday Night Live alum is ready to move on.
“He said everything he wanted to say,” the source says. “It was funny, self-deprecating, and thought-provoking. Now, “Chris is ready to move on.”
Selective Outrage saw the comedian perform in Jada Pinkett Smith’s hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. During the special, Rock spoke about “woke culture” along with a series of references to the Oscars incident — which happened after Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith’s hair. Rock also spoke about Meghan Markle’s claims of racism against the royal family.
Another source added that Rock is proud of the special and so are his famous comedian friends.
“Chris thinks his Netflix special was amazing and he feels great,” the source says. “He is glad he waited to debut his material on Netflix for such a big audience and to finally share his reaction to what happened with Will. He is also happy Netflix supported him and gave him the first live event platform to deliver his message in this unique, new way. Chris is one of the funniest, most respected comedians in the world, and his friends all thought his special was hilarious and smart.”
The source continued, “Chris’ comedian friends have had his back throughout everything, including Dave Chappelle and Jerry Seinfeld. His crew all sticks together and agreed Will was out of line for slapping Chris. They all appreciate the way Chris handled it and feel like it helps all of them because comedians should not be attacked or hit. Chris is in a great place and happy. He came out on top and believes he has done the right thing since it went down. He is grateful for all the support.”
On Saturday, Rock had a night filled with celebration. According to a source, the actor was joined by Dave Chappelle and other stars as he celebrated during an after-party — which included heightened security.
“Chris Rock had a party after his Netflix special in Baltimore with Dave Chappelle and his mother, Rosalie Rock, in attendance,” the source told ET. “It was Chris’ chance to exhale after a year of dealing with this. Rock left Baltimore this morning and plans to take at least a month off now that the special is over.”
The same source also noted that Rock called Smith after news of Pinkett Smith’s “entanglement” was revealed, but Smith never picked up his call.
So far, neither Smith nor Pinkett Smith have publicly spoken out about the Netflix special.
