Netflix Edits Chris Rock's Live Concussion Joke Flub
When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars ceremony, a cavalcade of emotions overcame both the theater and viewing audience. The incident immediately became infamous, manifesting memes, social commentary, and hot takes from every corner of the internet. Following 'the slap,' Smith publicly apologized to Chris, explained his actions, and accepted his 10-year ban from the Academy.
While Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, have been vocal about the incident, Rock was largely quiet... until now. As a comedian, it's only natural that Rock would break his silence on that chaotic night doing the one thing he knows best: comedy. The couple were a key part of Rock's Netflix stand-up comedy special "Chris Rock: Selective Outrage." After detailing his issues with expensive yoga pants, ruminating on American politics, and debating controversial opinions, Rock spent the last minutes of his show calling out the Smiths.
Seeing as the world has been waiting for the comedian's unfiltered thoughts on 'the slap,' Netflix decided to launch the special with much fan-fare, making it their very first live event to air across the world. While it was a largely successful effort, the comedian's performance showed the difficulties of performing live in front of millions.
Near the end of the special, Rock delivered a series of jokes about both Smith and Pinkett Smith, which included a flub where he misnamed the actor's 2015 movie "Concussion" as 'Emancipation." Rock smoothly explained his misfire, but even with that in mind, the streaming service has decided to edit the bit out of the on-demand version of the live program, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Although it would make sense to remove the mistake through editing, the exact reasons for the omission are not yet known.
Netflix has not explained why the flub was removed
In addition to making fun of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Chris Rock addressed Will Smith's slapping of him at length during his stand-up, even if it took him over an hour to even bring the event up. The Hollywood Reporter added how after mixing up the title of "Concussion," the comic moved on and added how Jada Pinkett Smith had actually started the animosity between Rock and Smith.
She allegedly did this by telling the comedian not to host the 2016 Academy Awards since Will Smith was not nominated for the film; purportedly, this request never sat well with Chris Rock. It is not clear if Netflix removed the joke misfire because it would be an easy fix with editing or if the removal was due to some of Rock's quips about the married film stars. While Rock did miss up the joke, it still received applause during the original version of the special, even after he announced his goof.
Chris Rock is aware of the edit
The outlet confirms that Rock is aware of the change and has worked with Netflix to make the necessary edits. Viewers who decide to watch the comedy special on Netflix's official website will see a disclaimer just below the set's title, which reads: "Streamed live and edited." The special also no longer features the "N Live" logo on the right-hand bottom corner. In the final, edited version of the special, Rock effortlessly glides through the joke, never mentioning "Emancipation."
Without the little disclaimer at the bottom, it's likely difficult for casual fans of the comedian to even know that the special was initially streamed and perfomed live and was later edited. Some may be disappointed that Netflix is undermining the live aspect of the special, especially after making such an event out of it. It's unclear if Netflix would have still edited the special in any capacity if Rock hadn't flubbed his own joke.
The publication also highlighted how "Chris Rock: Selective Outrage" had failed to land in the streaming service's worldwide rankings, even though it came in at 7th place in the U.S. Top 10 rankings.