Fact Check: Chris Rock Won $40M in Lawsuit Against Will Smith for Oscars Slap?

Claim:

Comedian Chris Rock won a $40 million lawsuit against Will Smith after the actor slapped him at the 2022 Academy Awards.

Rating:

False ( About this rating? )

Years after Will Smith infamously slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards, some people are still speculating about what happened after the incident. In August 2024, some social media users claimed ( archived ) Rock won a $40 million lawsuit against the actor over the slap.

Numerous readers also asked Snopes whether there was a lawsuit, whether it resulted in a settlement and if Rock won $40 million from it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C-my2FHRNS9/

However, the multimillion-dollar settlement rumor was not true. There was no publicly available evidence Rock ever filed a lawsuit against Smith, and if the story was true, it would be eminently newsworthy. Due to these factors, we rated this claim "False."

While there were no credible news reports Rock won a $40 million lawsuit, reports stated he received that figure for hiscomedy specials. Per an article published by film, television and entertainment magazine Hollywood Reporter , the comedian was paid $40 million in a Netflix deal for two comedy specials. This deal was reached in 2016, six years before the slap occurred. Hollywood Reporter's story cited unnamed sources.

Rock addressed the slap on his 2023 Netflix standup special "Selective Outrage," which was part of his deal with the streaming service. He said:

Y'all know what happened to me. Getting smacked by Suge Smith. Everybody knows. Everybody f***ing knows. Yes! It happened. I got smacked like a year ago, f***ing last week, I got smacked at the f***ing Oscars by this motherf***er. And people like, "Did it hurt?" It still hurts. I got "Summertime" ringing in my ear. F***ing drums, please.

But I'm not a victim, baby. You will never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying. You will never see it. Never gonna happen.

…

People are all, "You guys are fighting all the time." We're not fighting. First of all, I know you can't tell on camera. Will Smith is significantly bigger than me. We're not the same size, okay? We're not. This guy mostly does movies with his shirt off. You've never seen me do a movie with my shirt off. If I'm in a movie getting open heart surgery, I got on a sweater. Will Smith played Muhammad Ali in a movie. You think I auditioned for that part? He played Muhammad Ali. I played Pookie in New Jack City.

Following the slap, Rock declined to file a police report. According to Variety magazine, the Los Angeles Police Department said : "LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report."

After the incident, a story on gossip site Page Six, also citing unnamed sources, said Rock wasn't considering suing Smith. In 2022, Smith posted an apology video for the slap as well, saying: "I've reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he's not ready to talk and when he is, he will reach out so I will say to you Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk."

Given that Rock has declined to take further action and there was no confirmation from any party or credible news outlets about a potential lawsuit, the numerous online posts about the $40 million settlement had no merit.

Sources:

"Chris Rock Finally Talks Will Smith Oscars Slap in Comedy Special." EW.Com, https://ew.com/tv/chris-rock-will-smith-live-special-selective-outrage/ . Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.

Goldberg, Lesley. "Chris Rock Sets Comedian Record With $40M for Two Netflix Specials." The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Oct. 2016, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/chris-rock-sets-netflix-stand-938106/. " target="blank">https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/chris-rock-sets-netflix-stand-938106/.">https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/chris-rock-sets-netflix-stand-938106/. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.

Goodman, Stephanie. "How the Slap Has Changed the Oscars." The New York Times, 12 Mar. 2023. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/12/movies/oscars-slap-will-smith-chris-rock.html. " target="blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/12/movies/oscars-slap-will-smith-chris-rock.html.">https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/12/movies/oscars-slap-will-smith-chris-rock.html. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.

Lee, Benjamin. "Will Smith Posts Emotional Apology for the Slap: 'I Am Deeply Remorseful.'" The Guardian, 29 July 2022. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/29/will-smith-slap-apology-video. " target="blank">https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/29/will-smith-slap-apology-video.">https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/29/will-smith-slap-apology-video. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.

Sharf, Zack. "Chris Rock Declines to File Police Report After Will Smith Slap at Oscars, LAPD Says." Variety, 28 Mar. 2022, https://variety.com/2022/film/news/chris-rock-police-report-will-smith-slap-oscars-1235216542/. " target="blank">https://variety.com/2022/film/news/chris-rock-police-report-will-smith-slap-oscars-1235216542/.">https://variety.com/2022/film/news/chris-rock-police-report-will-smith-slap-oscars-1235216542/. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.

Smith, Emily. "Exclusive | Chris Rock "isn't Even Thinking of Suing" Will Smith over Oscars Slap." Page Six, 30 Mar. 2022, https://pagesix.com/2022/03/30/chris-rock-isnt-even-thinking-of-suing-will-smith-over-oscars-slap/. " target="blank">https://pagesix.com/2022/03/30/chris-rock-isnt-even-thinking-of-suing-will-smith-over-oscars-slap/.">https://pagesix.com/2022/03/30/chris-rock-isnt-even-thinking-of-suing-will-smith-over-oscars-slap/. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.