After heating up the internet, the botched Will Smith joke has been edited out of Chris Rock's stand-up special. Following a year of mostly silence from the latter on the infamous Oscars slap incident, Rock came back in heated fashion with the stand-up special, Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, in which he took aim at both Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett, making light of their relationship drama and Smith's role as a slave in Emancipation.
The Hollywood Reporter has brought word that the botched Will Smith joke from Chris Rock's stand-up special has been edited out. The bit, part of the live stand-up special Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, saw Rock attempt to make light of his prior history with Jada Pinkett Smith, who he claimed told him to quit hosting the Oscars in 2016 for not giving Smith a nomination for Emancipation, rather than Smith's actual film of that year, Concussion. Sources report that Rock and Netflix are working together on the final streaming cut of the special and that the former was aware of the edit.
Why Netflix Editing Smith's Joke Is A Big Deal
Rock's heated tirade against Smith in Selective Outrage featured a number of jokes the comedian had been workshopping during his tour the prior year, including labelling the actor as "Suge Smith" and that he enjoyed watching Emancipation just to see him get whipped. Despite the various headlines surrounding the matter and support from fans, Rock would argue that he was not a victim and saying that Smith, who is "SIGNIFICANTLY bigger" than him, was directing his outrage from his wife's affair towards Rock.
Though a seemingly small moment in the Netflix stand-up special, the botched Smith joke being edited out is smoewhat of a big deal. Chris Rock: Selective Outrage was already being touted as the streaming platform's first live event, making the flub not only understandable, but also showing some humanity for its star as he made a mistake trying to unleash a year of rage for the matter. While taking the joke out may better strengthen Rock's overall material and defense, it could also vindicate those in defense of Smith as they consider him to be fixing his mistakes to look better rather than embrace them.
With now a week gone since its premiere, Will Smith and his family have yet to make any public announcements regarding Rock's heated Netflix stand-up special. Given it took Smith four months to release a full video on his YouTube channel to express his remorse and regrets to Rock and his family, it seems likely the Oscar winner will take some time to process everything said before responding publicly, if he does at all.
Source: THR