Hey everyone, glad to see the positive feedback and great contributions in the comments! Just a few quick notes/ additional thoughts

1) a few people are saying it can’t be edited because it was live. That’s incorrect. Just because something was originally live does not mean it can’t be edited afterwards. There is currently a note in the credits of the special specifying that it was indeed edited after it aired, there are parts that are cut out, (specifically a joke he messed up about the movie concussion ) so it can, and has been edited.

2) towards the end, I said that one of his comments was “under the belt”. I misspoke, I did not mean this was unfair or wrong. I simply meant he hit Will where it hurts. As an entertainer I do not believe in censoring performers, ESPECIALLY when it is their own production, as I said, in the video, he should have the right to say what he wants and we have the right to not watch it.

3) this one is blowing my mind. The whole shark thing. I can’t believe the number of theories that are being thrown around in the comments lol. It’s very simple, the movie wasn’t very popular and it’s easy to misremember Will Smith playing a shark for someone who hasn’t really seen it (I would take anyone’s bet that Chris Rock hasn’t seen shark tale.) some of you said he purposely made a mistake to signal that he hasn’t seen it or nobody cares about that movie: I can agree with that. Most of you said he gave up accuracy to make his joke work, knowing nobody really remembers the movie: I can agree with that as well. A few people said he was referencing Will in real life, as a metaphor; absolutely not. Listen to the set up, he listed roles they both literally played and then ended with “ even in animation he’s bigger, I’m a zebra, he’s a shark” he’s talking about physical size and he’s talking about an animated role, that’s the entire setup of the joke, he’s not going from literal to metaphorical randomly without any warning. Finally a few people said it was intentional because Oscar (the fish in shark tale voiced by will smith) is lost and looking to find himself and trying to impress a woman by acting tough just like will smith. This is a great parallel and observation but it has NOTHING TO DO with Chris’ joke. How would incorrectly calling him a shark in any way allude to this metaphor or help illustrate this point?! If he wanted to point those similarities out he could have brilliantly scripted a bit about it. The setup of this joke was all about Will Smith being physically and literally bigger than him, he invested a big build up to get there, this isn’t the place for a very specific metaphor that would require intense knowledge of a very unpopular movie and Will Smith’s life. Notice how in his whole rant at the end he’s very specific and clear, this massive stretch of a metaphor wouldn’t fit, especially in a punchline, it’s not the place for it. I’m rarely certain in Analysis but I would bet any amount that Chris just forgot that Will isn’t a shark in a movie called Shark tale, or simply doesn’t care because the joke is close enough.

A few things to consider: 1. After being slapped, Chris Rock was forced to continue the show with Will Smith STILL being allowed to sit right in FRONT. I cannot imagine how humiliating that must have felt. 2. There is a lot of talk about Chris Rock’s feelings. I submit that IN ADDITION, we have to consider how his family felt seeing their father/husband/son being slapped in front of the whole world.

So it is understandable to see Chris Rock releasing all this anger and humiliation through his Netflix special - and get paid $40 million to do it.

I really think that line, “She hurt you way more than you hurt me,” is very powerful. This is Chris’ story to tell and he waited a year to tell it. Under all the circumstance, and the fact that he will be FOREVER remembered as the dude that got hit at the OSCARS, Chris Rock handled the situation with class.

He kept the wife’s name out of his mouth indeed… and still managed to roast her 500%

Chris can do whatever he wants on his show.  He gave the people, his fans, what they wanted.  A show and his genuine thoughts.  It was well done.

His show. Chris endured shock, embarrassment & assault in front of the whole world. Chris held his peace and delivered his emotions on his stage with the perfect words that cut deep.👍

I also think this allowed Chris the perfect platform to voice how he felt without having to do the talk show circuit and become meme bait. This venue allowed Chris to actually be heard and didn't provide the opportunity for anyone to contradict him, ask questions and interrupt him or even disagree with him. He got to say his piece in peace. Perfect.

The fact that Jada had an affair with Jaden's friend is not that she had an affair...it's that a mother thought it was a good idea to engage in a sexual relationship with a friend of her son.  This is all kinds of messed up.

I wanted to give a little insight on the animation set. When he made the remark I was a zebra, and he was a shark, I think this was an intentional jab at him by using his character in shark tale. Number one: Smith's name in the animation was Oscar (the incident happened at the Oscars) Number two: when you look at the character of the animated character "Oscar", tries to make the other characters believe he killed a "shark", however in reality he is an underachiever who  tries to play a tough guy "gangster",  but really he can't keep up the facade. It was a low blow about to him not only about him being a poser, but also a jab at his success. Madagascar was not only extremely successful, but Jada also played the hippo in Madagascar. It was a clever jab. He knew people would look it up, and maybe even get his insult. I thought it was one of his best actually, 😂!!

I think he did a GREAT job. He wasn’t fake like Will Smith was in his interviews. Will never showed no remorse even though he was “apologizing”. He apologized to everyone but Chris Rock. I use to love Will Smith, but now I have NO respect for him. I have more respect for Chris Rock because of how he handled the situation. The oldest saying is,”revenge is best served cold” and that is exactly what Chris did, so Kudos.

As a person who was bullied in high school, I don't think I will ever get over how shattering, traumatic and absolutely embarrassing it must have been to be slapped at the Oscars on live TV in front of the whole world. I'm just in awe of how well-put-together Chris has been about this whole thing.

This was the best platform for Chris to "fight back." Even in his emotions, he was STILL more gracious than many other comics would have been.

I think this was absolutely pure genius! He never said her name once but the audience and everyone who watched this heard how much he still roasted her. Especially will Smith. I don't think this was too much or he shouldn't have said certain things. He deserved to speak his mind and how thus impacted him on his own show and he did it so damn well. This I think is worse than being smacked by will. Words have a way of telling the truth and sticking with a person way way longer than that slap. Yeah, that slap was in front of the entire world but will smith made himself look do effing stupid and also made him look like he thinks he can go around and do what he wants because of who he is which is so wrong. Chris Rock handled everything with grace and maturity. Then waited and decided to use his best weapon which we all know are his words. I loved every moment of this show...I can't stand Jada. She is only where she is at because she is married to will smith!!

I feel that Chris Rock has every right to speak about everyone who saw what happened to him on national television.

I hate people trying to tell someone who was attacked how to react. He had every right to be outraged. Loved him.❤

Chris rock wasn’t just fighting back for himself, he was fighting back for all comedians, who live in fear now of getting attacked for telling jokes.
He’s standing up for his entire tribe, and he did it with utter brilliance.

I would also say that Chris in this sketch showed a moment of sympathy for Will ,when he said that he was raised by an abusive ( towards his mother ) father. This showed his deeper understanding of the whole scenario that many people did not know about .

Chris handled himself much better than I ever could have. Will acted rashly, without thought and his reputation took a big hit. Chris took his time, chose his words carefully, said his piece... and profited royally. Kudos to Chris.

Not only did Chris deliver priceless vengeance, he has gotten everybody else to retell his story, making this an ongoing nightmare for Will and Jada. SHEER GENIUS!!!!

I love the (intentional?) irony of how he started off by saying "People say words hurt... but anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face" and then proceeds to use words to inflict far more pain than a punch in the face. Genius