Did Chris Rock sue Will Smith after the slap? What you should know

We all remember the “slap that went around the world” with Will Smith and Chris Rock. It was that now-viral moment at the Oscars in March 2022 when viewers weren’t sure if they were watching a skit or real life. After all, one of the greatest actors in the world stormed onto the stage to slap one of the funniest comedians of all time.

Of course, we all know now that it was actually real life, so were there any real consequences?

In other words, fans are still wondering today: Did Chris Rock sue Will Smith after the actor slapped him on stage at the Oscars?

The incident—which has its own Wikipedia page!—was the result of a joke Chris made onstage during his hosting gig at the Oscars. Specifically, it was a joke about Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia.

Chris basically teased that Jada’s shaved head would make her good for a GI Jane To be continued. Will obviously didn’t like this and came on stage to slap Chris.

Amazingly, the stunned Chris remained calm on stage.

As Will – who later won the award for best actor for King Richard later that evening – immediately after the slap, he returned to his seat and yelled at Chris to “keep (his) wife’s name out of your damn mouth.”

The spectacle spawned thousands of memes and opinion pieces. Will initially offered something resembling an apology during his Best Actor speech, but not directly to Chris. He then apologized explicitly to Chris in a social media message the next day, and apologized again to the comedian on YouTube several months later. Will was even banned from the Academy Awards for a decade.

Chris himself mentioned the slap briefly on stage during a comedy show a few days later when it happened. He then used it as material for his “Ego Death World Tour”.

But did he sue Will?

No, Chris didn’t sue. Instead, he basically did the next best thing: He was reportedly offered $40 million for a Netflix special.

The show was broadcast one year after the slap in the face and was called Selective outrage.

And Chris definitely made sure to address Will and the slap more than once in his special.

“You all know what happened to me when I got hit by Shug Smith,” he once joked, later adding, “And people say, ‘Did it hurt?’ It still hurts. I have (Will’s song) ‘Summertime’ playing in my ears.”

“But I’m not a victim, baby, you’ll never see me crying on Oprah or Gayle (King). … I took that punch like Pacquiao,” he said.