A joke Chris Rock made about Will Smith in his Netflix comedy special was edited after he confused Smith's films 'Concussion' and 'Emancipation': report

• A joke Chris Rock made about Will Smith's movies was edited in his Netflix special.
• According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rock confused Smith's films "Concussion" and "Emancipation."
• Rock's "Selective Outrage" marked Netflix's first-ever live global streaming event.

Netflix edited a joke Chris Rock made about Will Smith from his "Selective Outrage" comedy special after Rock confused two of Smith's movies. 

The special, which aired on March 4, marked the streaming service's first live global streaming event, allowing viewers to see every joke and blunder. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rock messed up a joke about a conversation he had with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith about the Oscars in 2016.

"Years ago, his wife said I should quit the Oscars, I shouldn't host 'cause her man didn't get nominated for 'Emancipation,' the biggest piece of shit ever!" Rock told the live audience in Baltimore, Maryland, where the special was filmed. "No, not 'Emancipation,' I fucked up the joke."

The quip was intended to be a reference to Smith's 2015 biopic "Concussion," in which he starred as Dr. Bennet Omalu, a scientist researching chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in professional football players.

Rock hosted the 2016 Oscars, an event that many actors, including the Smiths, boycotted for its lack of diversity among nominees. The comedian made a joke about Pinkett Smith in his opening monologue that year: "Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties — I wasn't invited." 

Smith told the BBC in 2016 that his decision to skip the event had nothing to do with the fact that he wasn't nominated for his role in the sports drama.

THR reports that Rock continued on after the mistake and delivered the joke accurately. In the streaming version of Rock's special currently available on Netflix, he correctly names "Concussion" as the film Pinkett Smith was referring to. The special is also tagged with a disclaimer that says the show was "streamed live and edited."

A source THR described as "close to the production" told the outlet that Rock was aware the edit was being made and worked with Netflix on the final cut for streaming.

Representatives for Rock did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Netflix declined to comment on the matter.

Rock's highly anticipated special came nearly a year after Smith slapped him onstage at the Oscars over a joke about his wife's journey with alopecia.

The comedian addressed the moment and his thoughts on Smith at the end of the show, telling the audience that he watched "Emancipation" to see Smith be physically assaulted. Smith played an enslaved man named Peter who escaped captivity in Louisiana in the 2022 film, which was inspired by a true story.

"I have rooted for Will Smith my whole life," Rock said. "And now, I watch 'Emancipation' just to see him get whooped."