‘Selective Outrage,’ a stand-up comedy special by Chris Rock, was the first live-streaming event on Netflix. There is widespread curiosity about his salary from the performance.
After an absence of eight years, Chris Rock’s first live event for Netflix, “Selective Outrage,” premiered on March 4, marking his comeback to stand-up comedy. But he had a contract for a different kind of special.
Chris Rock also released the 2017 unique “Chris Rock: Tamborine” in 2018, alongside ‘Selective Outrage. Will Smith’s iconic Oscar slap was the subject of jokes during the live show.
Rock has amassed a large fan base thanks to his provocative and politically engaged humor. Look at this list to see how much money he is expected to make from these performances.
Chris Rock Netflix Deal
There’s no hiding that Netflix is placing a significant wager on stand-up. Last weekend, though, the platform made history by broadcasting its first live event, which bodes well for its comedic future.
The Netflix premiere of Chris Rock’s comedy unique Chris Rock: Selective Outrage was on a Saturday night, preceded by their star-studded specials. This was the first time the seasoned comic had spoken publicly about the infamous slap he received from Will Smith at the 2022 Academy Awards, so it served double duty.
The Hollywood Reporter claimed in 2016 that Rock’s Saturday special was part of a $40 million contract for two stand-up specials he made with Netflix. According to THR, “the $20 million per special is said to be more than such A-list comedians as Louis C.K., Jerry Seinfeld, and Amy Schumer have commanded,” though Netflix has yet to confirm the amount Rock was paid each agreement.
NBC Nightly News also covered this news on Twitter:
Chris Rock is set to take center stage in a new Netflix special where he is expected to dive into details of the infamous slap involving Will Smith at the Oscars.@Miguelnbc shares more on the $40 million streaming deal for Rock’s performance: https://t.co/ZTy5FDpZ7M
— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) March 4, 2023
Rock’s first Netflix comedy special, Chris Rock: Tamborine, debuted almost five years before Selective Outrage. After a heated bidding war, Rock finally parted ways with HBO.
With such a star-studded lineup of comics on hand for both the opening and closing acts, likely, the total take for the evening’s entertainment was well north of $20 million.
During the hour-long event, Rock discussed being an “awake” dad, his bond with his girls, and his experiences in the dating scene as a single parent. But when it came to Smith, the man who smacked him across the face on live TV while he was presenting at last year’s Oscars, he held nothing back.
The comic said that Jada Pinkett-Smith, Will Smith’s wife, was mostly to blame.
“She hurt him WAY more than he hurt me … everybody called him a bitch. And who’s he hit? Me!” he joked in his special.
Netflix’s entry into the market for live-streaming events could be lucrative, but is Selective Outrage worth $20 million?
Chris Rock Criticises Will Smith For His Oscar Slap
Chris Rock, slapped by actor Will Smith on Oscars night one year ago, has finally opened up about the incident. Saturday night at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, Rock poked fun at Smith and stressed that he is not a victim during a stand-up special.
After Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith‘s looks, Smith smacked him onstage, in front of an audience, and on live television. The comedian responded to those who had asked him about the smack and why he hadn’t retaliated, “Why didn’t you do anything back?” Given that I have parents.
Since that’s how I was brought up, did you know the most important lesson I learned from them? It’s best to avoid confrontation in the presence of white folks.
Will Smith is guilty of “selective outrage. Anger because everyone knows what the f**k went on. Whoever knows understands that I have nothing to do with that s**t. When asked about Jada’s affair with musician August Alsina, Rock responded, “I didn’t have any entanglements,” to applause from the audience.
Rock continued by saying that after learning about Jada and their disagreement, he had called Smith, but Smith had not answered. He claimed that at the time, everyone and their mother was talking badly about Jada, and he named her names. Although Rock stated that Smith hit him because he could, Smith denied this.
And he went on, “You know what people say, they say, ‘words hurt,'” he remarked. Words may be painful, but try getting hit in the face. But honey, I’m not a victim. Neither Oprah nor Gayle will ever catch me in tears, Rock vowed. He made a joke about how he “took that s**t like [Manny] Pacquaio (former professional boxer).
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who will host the Oscars this time, also addressed the issue in an interview with People. He said he was still not over it and added, “It’s still shocking that that happened.” Jimmy said, “I mean, to be slapped in the face and stay cool is something that Chris should be proud of. Chris’s grandchildren, I hope, will still be proud of that when he’s dead and gone.”
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