Chris Rock’s fans are furious at him for taking shots at Jada Pinkett Smith and Meghan Markle in a live set for Netflix titled Selective Outrage.
On Saturday (4 March), the 58-year-old comedian performed a live set for the streaming giant where he roasted Will Smith for slapping him at the Oscars in March 2022, blamed Jada Pinkett Smith for starting this “s***,” and joked about Meghan Markle’s accusations of racism against the royal family.
Speaking of Pinkett Smith, Rock claimed that she attempted to force him to quit hosting the Oscars in 2016 because her husband didn’t get a Best Actor nomination.
That year, Smith was being considered as a nominee for Concussion, but he ultimately failed to make the list.
“Years ago, his wife said I should quit the Oscars. I shouldn’t host ‘cause her man didn’t get nominated for Concussion. And then he gives me a f***ing concussion,” Rock joked. He said The Girls Trip star “started this whole s***”.
In the same set, Rock also addressed Markle’s April 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
In the interview, Markle and Prince Harry said that while at the Buckingham Palace, there were “concerns” raised about “how dark” their baby’s skin might be before Archie was born.
Rock questioned the belief that Markle was the victim of racism, and said she was merely dealing with “in-law s***”.
Soon after the live stream, many fans started calling out Rock for his “rude” statements.
“Chris Rock called Jada Pinkett Smith a b*tch and said Meghan Markle played the race card,” wrote lawyer Exavier Pope. “Punching down on Black women. Clownery.”
Another person added: “America has woken up to the fraud. Look at this room of Black people laughing the heck out of Meghan Markle. First, it was @SouthPark. Now, Chris Rock has destroyed Meghan Markle.”
One person wrote: “It don’t matter your hue, if you are a famous Black woman, Chris Rock will drag you for giggles. He ain’t for the culture cause he had endless things to make a laughing matter of, and chose to be mean to Meghan under the guise of parody. Nah, you mean harm, Chris.”
“So Chris Rock’s weak a** decided to go in on Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and kept up his already 20-plus years of attacking Jada,” one person wrote.
Another added: “Chris Rock, you are not funny. The Meghan Markle pile-on has got to stop. The mention of her name is so lucrative mfs forget that she’s a human being.”
The Independent has contacted Rock’s representatives for comment.
During his set, Rock also spoke about Smith and his wife’s marital issues.
“Will Smith practices selective outrage. Because everybody knows what the f*** happened,” Rock said in an extended riff towards the end of the 70-minute special.
Rock also said that he was “not a victim”.
“But I’m not a victim baby. You will never see me on Oprah or Gayle, crying,” he said. “Never gonna happen. I took that hit like Paquiao,” he said, referring to former professional boxer Manny Pacquiao.
