Chris Rock says only reason he watched Will Smith's movie Emancipation was to watch him get whipped

Chris Rock has joked that the only reason he watched Will Smith's 2022 movie Emancipation was to watch him get whipped.

The comedian has been testing out material for his upcoming live Netflix special, dropping today (March 4) – including jokes about the infamous Oscars slap a year after it unfolded.

To refresh your memory, the shocking moment arrived while the King Richard star was sitting in the audience at the 2022 Academy Awards with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Rock, who was hosting that night, made a G.I. Jane joke about Jada, a comment that referenced her bald head.

The joke enraged the Fresh Prince star, who was seen shouting 'keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth'.

He then walked up to the stage and slapped Rock around the face.

Though the awards ceremony bizarrely carried on, with Smith even winning a Best Actor award, he faced the repercussions later on.

Although both parties have been relatively quiet since then, the stand-up comedian is now addressing the whole saga in his stand-up special, Selective Outrage.

The episode is set to air later today, with Rock testing out some new material with audiences ahead of the main event.

REUTERS/Alamy Stock Photo

In one of the preparation performances, he told crowds at a packed out theatre that he 'rooted for Will Smith' his whole life, according to the New York Post.

However, he went on to make a jibe at his latest film project Emancipation, which saw Smith play a slave who escapes captivity and goes to fight with Abraham Lincoln's army during the American Civil War.

Rock went on to say: "The other day, I watched Emancipation just so I could watch him getting whipped."

As was the case with the Oscars slap, the comment has divided opinion, with dozens of people discussing the joke on Twitter.

"Chris Rock 'joked' about watching Emancipation to watch Will Smith get whipped. Almost a full year after HE made fun of his wife's illness," said one.

"Remind why f***ing SLAPPING was the worse thing to do in this situation?"

Another wrote: "Chris really said if I’m gon get slapped at the Oscars imma make some damn money from it."

On the other side of the coin, in response to people accusing the comedian of 'milking' it, one person said: "Of course he’s gonna be teasing and promoting it. And he was assaulted so it’s his to milk however much he wants."

A second chimed in: "Will Smith made an IG post like a week ago holding his Oscar and people made the assumption and inference that Will had no regrets about that night.

"Since Chris hasn't addressed it, he can address it whenever he wants. Plenty ppl will watch even those that say they won't."