This isn’t the first time that Rock has experimented with the format of a traditional stand-up show – his 2008 special, Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger, was cut together from three separate performances in New York, London, and Johannesburg. The special earned Rock an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program, one of four Emmys that the prolific comedian has received during his historic career.
That same year, another comedy legend, George Carlin, performed his final HBO stand-up special, It’s Bad for Ya, on a live broadcast. Carlin passed away from heart failure less than four months after the performance, and he was posthumously awarded a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. Rock is following in some formidable footsteps with this experiment in live streamed comedy.
For those who have been anxiously awaiting Chris Rock’s unedited, unfiltered take on the events of this past March’s Oscar ceremony, Rock, who has been uncharacteristically tight-lipped regarding the incident in which Will Smith stormed the stage and slapped the comedian mid-ceremony, has hinted that this upcoming special may be the moment where he finally unleashes his thoughts on the subject.
During a recent show in London, Rock said of the slap, “People expect me to talk about the bullshit, I’m not going to talk about it right now, I’ll get to it eventually, on Netflix.” Whether that’s a promise or a deflection remains to be seen, but if he does choose to rehash the infamous incident during his live streamed special, let’s hope that Netflix hires better security than the Academy. You never know who will be in that audience, and we hear that Jada is a master of camouflage.