Chris Rock Has a Very Different Take on the Will Smith Slap Four Years Later

Four years after Will Smith slapped him on the Oscars stage, Chris Rock isn’t interested in letting one shocking moment define his career.

In fact, Rock’s latest comments suggest he’s looking at the infamous incident with a much broader perspective.

While promoting his new film Misty Green, Rock was asked how he feels about the 2022 Oscars incident today. His answer was surprisingly simple.

“I wish nothing would have happened,” Rock said during a new interview with Variety.

But the comedian, actor and filmmaker made it clear that he doesn’t want the Oscars slap to overshadow what he is doing now.

Chris Rock Doesn’t Want the Slap to Be the Story

The 2022 Oscars moment has followed Rock for years.

Smith walked onto the Oscars stage and slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. The moment quickly became one of the most talked-about incidents in Academy Awards history.

Rock eventually addressed the incident in his 2023 Netflix special Selective Outrage, but he has largely continued moving forward with his career.

Now, four years later, Rock appears less interested in revisiting the controversy than he is in talking about his next chapter.

That next chapter is Misty Green, his first major directing project since 2014’s Top Five.

He’s Putting the Focus on Misty Green

Rock is especially protective of the attention surrounding his new film.

Misty Green stars Rosalind Eleazar as a once-famous actress dealing with a dramatically different life after losing her financial security. The cast also includes Anna Kendrick, Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, Topher Grace and Rock.

Rock wrote and directed the film, which is scheduled to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival before its theatrical release through A24.

And there is an interesting connection between the film and the real-life controversy that has followed Rock.

In Misty Green, Rock plays a character involved in a story where a woman hits a colleague. During the interview, Rock admitted he had not even thought about the connection to what happened to him at the Oscars.

That detail seemed to catch him off guard.

Chris Rock Says the Incident Isn’t That Important Anymore

Rock’s perspective on the slap has also changed with time.

He acknowledged that he wishes the incident had never happened, but he also doesn’t see his experience as the biggest problem in the world.

Rock pointed to the much larger problems people are facing and said he doesn’t want his own bad day to overshadow everything else happening around him.

That may be the biggest difference between Rock’s perspective now and the way the story was discussed immediately after the Oscars.

Back then, the slap seemed almost impossible to escape.

Now, Rock seems ready to put it in its place.

Rock Is Focused on Being a Director

One of the more interesting parts of Rock’s interview is how much his priorities appear to have changed.

He described himself as becoming more of a “director guy” and talked about wanting to spend more time writing and directing rather than constantly chasing acting opportunities.

At 61, Rock said he is less concerned with maintaining the image he had earlier in his career.

That includes being less obsessed with his appearance and more interested in the creative process itself.

Misty Green represents that shift.

Rather than simply being another Chris Rock comedy vehicle, the film gives him an opportunity to step behind the camera and tell a story about Hollywood, fame, money, aging and the strange priorities of Los Angeles.

Will Chris Rock Return to the Oscars?

Don’t expect Rock to rush back to the Oscars stage.

When asked about hosting the ceremony again, Rock suggested that his hosting days may be behind him.

He also joked that the only way he expects to return to the Oscars is if he is nominated — something he clearly does not expect to happen.

It was a much more relaxed answer than the kind of speculation that surrounded him after the 2022 ceremony.

And perhaps that’s the point.

Chris Rock Has Moved On

There is something surprisingly calm about Rock’s latest comments.

He isn’t claiming the slap was meaningless. He isn’t pretending it didn’t affect him. And he isn’t rewriting what happened.

He’s simply putting it into perspective.

Rock has spent decades building a career in comedy, film and television. He has directed movies, performed stand-up specials and become one of the most recognizable comedians of his generation.

Now, he appears to be interested in what comes next.

And if Misty Green succeeds, it could give audiences a very different look at the filmmaker Chris Rock wants to become.

Four years after the slap that dominated headlines around the world, Rock’s message seems much simpler:

That happened. He’s still here. And he’s got another movie to make.

Sources

Variety: Chris Rock’s new interview about Misty Green, the Oscars, Will Smith and his next chapter.

People: Reporting on Rock’s latest comments about the 2022 Oscars slap.

Andy Witchger, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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