Netflix Removes Will Smith Joke from Chris Rock’s Stand-Up

Netflix has removed a portion of the comedy special “Selective Outrage” after comedian Chris Rock made a joke about Will Smith.

Chris Rock addressed the moment when Will Smith slapped him at last year’s Oscars and made critical comments about Will’s marriage.

It was the first time Chris spoke about the bizarre incident, as he admitted the slap “still hurts.”

The comedian asserted that Jada Pinkett Smith should be made fun of, as she initiated the issue by suggesting that he should withdraw from the Oscars.

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The 58-year-old further claimed that Jada requested it because her husband, Will Smith, didn’t have a nomination for his performance in the movie “Concussion.”

He, however, got the film name wrong and caught himself mid-delivery to admit he messed up the joke.

“Years ago, his wife asked me to quit the Oscars. I shouldn’t host because her man wasn’t nominated for Emancipation,” he said.

“The greatest piece of s**t ever. Then, the n****r gives me a f***ing concussion. No, not Emancipation. I f****d up the joke. Concussion.” Netflix quickly edited the blunder, but some viewers noticed the mistake they edited.

Netflix decided to remove the joke from the special, which is still available on the platform.

However, the decision also sparked a more extensive debate about censorship and the role of comedy in addressing social issues.

Chris Rock addresses Will Smith slap in Netflix special https://t.co/M5Ebs3yOCm

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 7, 2023

What Viewers Had to Say

Some argued that removing the joke was an overreaction and an infringement on free speech.

In contrast, others pointed out that comedy has the power to shape cultural attitudes and reinforce harmful stereotypes.

“They corrected the Concussion-Emancipation slip up in the current version on Netflix,” Vulture’s Jesse David Fox tweeted before adding, “It makes one wonder if there have been other tweaks!”

Another user said, “Netflix got that live edit of Chris Rock’s standup special!”

“The courage it takes to record a Netflix special live without edits. F***ing up the concussion joke is why nobody does this. Chris Rock is amazing. It’s as simple as that,” a third user tweeted.

Some people weren’t happy with the edit, with one person commenting, “@netflix, the edit of Chris Rock’s special is a letdown.” Another disappointed fan added, “Terrible that they edited it out of the show.”

they fixed the Concussion-Emancipation slip up in the version that's now on Netflix

— Jesse David Fox (@JesseDavidFox) March 8, 2023

Chris Rock’s Previous Remarks about Will Smith

Chris Rock’s inaccurate remarks about one of Will Smith’s movies are not restricted to Selective Outrage.

In the comedy special, he also joked that he wouldn’t have retaliated against the actor.

Explaining that Will Smith was “significantly bigger than me,” he joked that the difference in toughness continued even into their animated movies as “I’m a zebra, he’s a f**king shark.”

Viewers quickly pointed out that in the 2004 movie Shark Tale, Will Smith portrayed a fish who pretended to defeat sharks and eventually got a job at a car wash. 

While in the 2005 film Madagascar, Chris Rock played the role of a zebra. The animal yearned for a life beyond a New York zoo.

Someone said their main takeaway from Selective Outrage was that Chris Rock “thinks Will Smith played a shark in Shark Tale,” while a second couldn’t believe “Chris Rock ain’t never seen Shark Tale OMG.”

Another said Chris Rock “should be so embarrassed” not to remember which animal Smith played in a movie from almost 20 years ago.

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