Year after the slap, Chris Rock punches back in new special

A year after Will Smith smacked him on the Academy Awards stage, Chris Rock finally gave his rebuttal in a forceful stand-up special, streamed live on Netflix, in which the comedian bragged that he “took that hit like Pacquiao.” The 58-year-old comedian on Saturday night performed his first stand-up special since last year’s Oscars in a much-awaited sequel that had all the hype — and more — of a Manny Pacquaio prizefight. “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage,” streamed live from the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, marked Netflix’s first foray into live streaming. Rock, performing in all white and with a Prince medallion around his neck, immediately touched on last year’s Oscars while riffing on “wokeness,” hypersensitivity and what he called “selective outrage.” “You never know who might get triggered,” said Rock. “I played Pookie in ‘New Jack City.’” Ultimately, Rock suggested he was just caught in the crossfire in Smith’s relationship with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.