Chris Rock’s latest comedy special Selective Outrage aired live on Netflix last night, where he cracked jokes about the Will Smith Oscar slap, the Duchess of Sussex and the Kardashians, but his new routine fell flat with some comedy fans.
Rock’s new show saw him address the now-infamous Oscar moment when he got a slap across the face after making a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith. You can see a clip from the special here:
He joked: “You never know who might get triggered.
“You know what people say, they say, ‘words hurt’.
“Anybody that say words hurt has never been punched in the face.”
He added: “People are like, ‘Did it hurt?’ It still hurts! I got ‘Summertime’ ringing in my ears,” with the gag getting laughs and applause from the audience.
However, viewers at home were not quite as happy – posting on Twitter, one person wrote: “I was looking forward to Chris Rock live on Netflix tonight. Unfortunately he lost what made him funny.”
Another said: “So from what I understand about the Netflix special, Chris Rock still isn’t funny.”
And a fourth wrote: “Chris Rock is absolutely NOT funny at all. These jokes are horrible to the point they’re uncomfortable. Makes me not feel bad for what Will Smith did.”
“I turned this Chris Rock s**t on and turned it right off. Almost cancelled Netflix cuz this s**t so awful,” a fifth person complained.
And it wasn’t just viewers who were left feeling unimpressed – a reviewer in the Independent gave it three stars and branded the special ‘uninspired and regurgitative’, while USA Today said Rock had become ‘a sad old man yelling at clouds’, adding: “He’s crotchety. He’s mean. He’s predictable and boring.” Ouch.
And The Hollywood Reporter said ‘dated material and stagey direction limit the excitement of ‘live-ness’.
The special aired live – a first for Netflix – and is now available to stream as usual, for those who missed it.
Selective Outrage is Rock’s second Netflix special following on from 2018’s Tamborine.
Announcing the new show, Robbie Praw, Netflix Vice President of Stand-up and Comedy Formats said: “Chris Rock is one of the most iconic and important comedic voices of our generation.
“We’re thrilled the entire world will be able to experience a live Chris Rock comedy event and be a part of Netflix history.
“This will be an unforgettable moment and we’re so honored that Chris is carrying this torch.”
