Hours After Chris Rock’s ‘Not a Victim’ Admission, FIFA Goes Nostalgic With Will Smith’s 2018 Performance

Every single person is aware of the infamous incident during the 94 Academy Awards. The fans will never forget that moment when Will Smith angrily stormed onto the stage and slapped Chris Rock. In retrospect, fans now joke about that moment. The infamous clip and image of that moment have also become an extremely popular meme reference on social media.

Chris Rock openly spoke about that moment during his latest Netflix comedy special. However, just a few hours later, FIFA has seemingly indirectly gone with the flow. The soccer association released a short movie on the 2018 FIFA World Cup on its website.

The shocking part about that video is that Will Smith’s live performance is also a part of the soccer after-movie. And the fans are trying to decipher whether this is just a coincidence or something much more.

FIFA releases an after-movie with Will Smith!

Netflix recently unveiled a brand new comedy special by Chris Rock. Chris Rock smartly named his comedy routine ‘Selective Outrage’. During the hour-long live show, the comedian touched upon several sensitive topics from his life; one of them being the infamous slap. The American comedian specified that he wasn’t the ‘victim’ of the entire situation.

The comedian rightfully confirmed that the slap physically hurt him. However, he wasn’t going to fight back in any way. Rock said, “But I’m not a victim baby. You will never see me, Oprah or Gayle, crying. Never going to happen. I took that hit like Paquiao”, as transcribed by Independent. During the comedy special, Rock tried to keep the mood as witty as possible to avoid stirring up another controversy.

Just a few hours later, FIFA released an after-movie on their official website. They posted a trailer clip of the same on their social media. Guess what, the trailer of the after-movie starts with Will Smith putting on his earpiece before his live performance. The Grammy Award winner collaborated with Jam and Istrefi to compose ‘Live it Up’ for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The trio performed their song live during the closing ceremony of the 2018 World Cup.

READ MORE: “I Took That Hit Like Motherf*ck*ng [Manny] Pacquiao”: Chris Rock Vents About Will Smith Oscars Slap in Latest Netflix Special

The fans are still scratching their head after looking at the timing of the Netflix Special and the World Cup after-movie. They are trying to decipher whether this is a coincidence or if it actually secretly means something.

What was the slapping incident about?

The infamous slap incident happened during the 94 Academy Awards in March 2022. While hosting the show, Chris Rock made a slightly sensitive joke about Jada Pinkett, Will Smith’s wife. The famous comedian poked fun at Pinkett’s shaved head. Will Smith’s wife has been shaving her scalp due to alopecia areata since 2021. The joke obviously didn’t sit well with Will Smith. He stormed onto the stage and slapped the comedian.

The clip of that moment went immediately viral on social media. During the next few months, that moment became of the funniest memes ever. Earlier this year, Ronaldo Nazario’s soccer club also used the meme as a witty reference on their social media. Since the slap, Smith has also issued a public apology to Chris Rock. However, the board still banned the Hollywood star from attending the Oscars for the next ten years.

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What was your takeaway from the entire Smith–Rock controversy? Let us know in the comments below.