Chris Rock: Women-hating men will never understand Will Smith
Chris Rock: Women-hating men will never understand Will Smith
Why ‘Selective Outrage’ further confirms Chris Rock is bitter about women
Writer’s note: This post was originally published on Medium’s “We Need to Talk” on March 6, 2023.
When Slapgate happened with Will Smith during the Oscars, I started off trying to be neutral — even though I was fully aware this was physical assault. It’s hard to take sides when you just saw your favorite comedian for decades get hit in the face by one of the most loveable actors whose hip-hop singles are required at your family gatherings. I was hoping this was a really bad April Fool’s joke.
Considering I read “Will” the millisecond his memoir came out, I wasn’t clutching my pearls at the Red Table Talk interview between Will and Jada Pinkett Smith regarding her fling with the guy who threw Stormy Daniels’ mattress off the balcony and gave her no choice but to sleep by a swimming pool. While Will’s separation-dating life is still on the hush hush, because August Alsina felt the need to publicly blast himself, the Smiths had no choice but to respond. (Whoever Will dated clearly doesn’t need 15 minutes of fame though cause that woman/women is still quiet.)
Recommended Read: “You will NOT make Jada Pinkett Smith the villain for Oscars 2022 ~ Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, not Jada Pinkett Smith”
I rolled my eyes at my second favorite comedian Wanda Sykes declaring she was owed an apology because she was one-third of the hosts that night of Oscars. (Why on Earth does an already-established, respectable comedian need 15 minutes too? And thank you, Regina Hall, for not being this melodramatic.) In the case of both comedians, not one person said a damn thing about how Jada Pinkett Smith would feel being loudly made fun of for a disease she has no control of. Unlike G.I. Jane, she didn’t purposely shave her head; she had alopecia. But Wanda wanted an apology because somebody took the shine off her for — hosting.
Although Wanda Sykes and Chris Rock were in my number-one spot for comedians for years, I started reevaluating this. The more those two talked, the less I liked them after Slapgate. But that grudge couldn’t last forever. Wanda Sykes did a phenomenal job as the guest host of “The Daily Show,” and I would absolutely watch her as the permanent one. I was pleasantly surprised to find I liked her way more than my original pic: Hasan Minhaj.
So when Chris Rock’s Netflix special came out, I kept thinking, “Why would I not watch a special for a guy who I have paid to see live before?” Matter of fact, at that past event, I shot a glare at two women complaining in the bathroom about how they “wasted their money” on paying for tickets to see him live. They didn’t like his political or social justice jokes, but that’s 50% of the reason I like him (and Wanda Sykes).
Recommended Read: “When black men protect black women ~ Overlooking the larger request from the #ProtectBlackWomen hashtag after the Will Smith slap”
So knowing that I was about to hear him talk about Slapgate a year later — although this man didn’t even need a band-aid nor did he even get hit hard enough to move — I watched anyway. Why? I’m still a fan of his comedy. Sorta. Not quite so anymore.
The main two takeaways I got from the comedy special for this:
Chris Rock really hates women post-divorce.
Chris Rock will never understand why he was wrong.