Chris Rock says the Will Smith Oscars slap was in response to ‘the nicest joke I ever told’

It was the slap heard (and watched) round the world, and Chris Rock is still getting mileage out of it.

During a European comedy tour, Rock brought up the incident in which Will Smith slapped the comedian on national television. During a show in Liverpool, England, he asked the audience, as reported by Deadline, “Did that sh*t hurt? Goddamn right…The motherf*cker hit me over a bullsh*t joke, the nicest joke I ever told.” 

This year’s Academy Awards have gone down in infamy for Smith’s bad decision. On a night when he should have been celebrated for finally taking home the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role for his work in King Richard, all anyone talks about is “The Slap.” At the awards show in March, Rock, the host of the 94th Oscars, made a joke at the expense of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from the skin condition alopecia. Smith seemed to initially laugh at the joke before charging the stage to slap the comedian. After returning to his seat, Smith yelled obscenities at Rock, all on national television. 

Smith has since apologized for his behavior and resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, but it’s apparently still too soon for most fans. For the time being, he’s remained relatively quiet. But, of course, this is Hollywood, and it’ll all be forgotten when the Fresh Prince has his next blockbuster hit. 

Meanwhile, Rock is still talking about his awkward Oscars moment. In May, an audience member tackled Dave Chappelle on stage during his set at the Hollywood Bowl for the Netflix Is a Joke Fest. Rock took to the stage in the aftermath and quipped to the audience, “Was that Will Smith?”