Chris Rock’s failed Will Smith joke has been edited out of the Netflix special

television

by Brock Steinberg

March 10, 2023 | 10:54 a.m

It was a smack heard all over the world – but the world wouldn’t hear one of Chris Rock’s jokes about it.

A joke about Will Smith has been adapted into The Rock’s Netflix special “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage” after the comedian spoiled it during a live show.

Rock, 58, was joking about Smith, 54, and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, 51, at the end of his show on March 4, and was specifically discussing a conversation he claims he had with them about his hosting of the 2016 Oscars when the joke was botched.

“Years ago, his wife said I should quit the Academy Awards; I shouldn’t host because her husband wasn’t nominated for Emancipation, the biggest piece ever!” Rock said during Netflix’s first-ever global live-streaming event. No, not ’emancipation,’ you complete the joke.”

The comedian meant to refer to the 2015 sports drama.concussiona film based on the true story of neurologist Dr. Bennett Omalu, played by Smith, who was the first to discover CTE, a football-related brain trauma.

Rock continued and properly complemented the joke: “I started this. She said I, big-ass man, should quit his job because “my husband wasn’t nominated for a ‘concussion’ award.”

That part of the special has now been edited out, a source has been told Hollywood Reporter The Rock is aware of the edit and has worked with Netflix on the final cut, which is now available to people streaming.

The 2016 Academy Awards ceremony was the same year that the #OscarsSoWhite ceremony was boycotted by Pinkett Smith, who protested the Academy’s history of lacking diversity.

Last year, Smith slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about Pinkett Smith’s hair — which Smith described as his wife’s struggle with hair loss. The tone deaf comment inspired the actor to run up to the Los Angeles Dolby Theater and slap rock band in the face.

Meanwhile, Smith was reported to have been “embarrassed and hurt” by Rock’s comments made on the special.

“Will is embarrassed and hurt by what Chris said about him and his family on his Netflix special,” a source she told Entertainment Tonight. “He hasn’t seen it, but he’s had people tell him what Chris said,” the insider continued, adding that “Will and Jada saw comments about it.”

“He will apologize to Chris and would like Chris to let it go,” the source added.

Smith reportedly feels that Netflix has made a “distasteful” move in streaming the rock special.