Chris Rock has spoken about being smacked in the face by actor Will Smith on the Academy Awards stage.
During the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles in March last year, Smith walked on to the stage and slapped Rock, who had made a joke at the expense of the actor’s wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, as he was about to present an award.
Rock’s joke had made a reference to the 1997 film GI Jane, in which actress Demi Moore shaved her head.
It is still unclear whether the comedian was aware that Pinkett Smith has alopecia, an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss, when he made the remark.
Speaking on Saturday on a Netflix live-streamed special Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, Rock said he “took that hit like (former Filipino boxer) Pacquiao”.
He added: “You know what people say, they always say ‘words hurt’.
“That’s what they say.
“You’ve got to watch what you say.
“Because words hurt, you know.
“Anybody that says words hurt has never been punched in the face.”
Smith has apologised repeatedly for the incident.
