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After Chris Rock’s Unhinged Attack at Jada Smith’s Affair With Son Jaden Smith’s Friend, Lakers Legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Voices His Thoughts

Published 03/07/2023, 6:10 AM EST

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Fans around the world have not forgotten the shocking scenes of Hollywood superstar Will Smith slapping fellow superstar Chris Rock at the Oscars. And by the looks of it, understandably, the comedian has not either. The slap became a major controversy and was one of the biggest talking points in the months that followed. However, Chris Rock remained relatively silent. But recently, the comedian came out swinging with his Netflix special Selective Outrage where he shared a piece of his mind regarding the incident and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. Moreover, the comedy special stirred a bit of controversy and now, NBA legend Kareem-Abdul Jabbar has given his take.

Interestingly, the Los Angeles Lakers legend was also in attendance for the show alongside other celebrities like David Spade, Arsenio Hall, JB Smoove, Ronny Chieng, Dana Carvey, and Yvonne Orji.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on “Selective Outrage”

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Chris Rock had a lot to get off his chest after months of silence. During the show, he talked about Jada Pinkett Smith alleged extramarital affair with her son Jaden Smith’s friend. The actress denied the claims initially but later admitted on Red Table Talk. The comedian stated that he normally does not talk about things like this but spoke since they shared it on the internet. Furthermore, he called out Will Smith for slapping him and claimed Smith practices “selective outrage”.

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has now given his thoughts about the comedy special via his website, Kareem Substack. The six-time NBA champion noted that he is a fan of Chris’ comedy and acting as well. He talked applauded Chris’ personal humor in talking about the struggles of Black people in the country and added that Rock is “very, very funny”. The six-time NBA MVP had major praise for Chris and even compared himself with the comedian.

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He wrote, “But I have nothing except praise for Chris’s Selective Outrage. I guess Chris and I have something in common. I write a regular column, “Kareem Reacts to the News,” and Chris does stand-up in which he reacts to the news. We are both outraged by other people’s selective (meaning inconsistent and contradictory) outrage, while smugly confident in our own righteousness.”

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Abdul-Jabbar noted that he is not praising the comedian just because they know each other. Abdul-Jabbar added that he does not shy away from publicly criticizing anyone because he knows the individual personally.

Abdul-Jabbar does not play favorites

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has known Will Smith and Chris Rock for years. However, that did not stop him from ripping up Smith into shreds for slapping Chris. After the slap, Abdul-Jabbar condemned Smith for his action with an article on his website. He noted that the slap was bad for men, women, and the Black community.

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While talking about the comedy special, Abdul-Jabbar stated that he would not think twice about publicly criticizing Chris if he did something detrimental. He also said that he has received a lot of angry calls from celebrities for his criticisms.

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Written by:

Bagavathi Eswaran

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Bagavathi Eswaran is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He has been playing the game of basketball for more than 20 years now and has also been following the NBA for more than 10 years. After not being able to go pro, this former college player decided to join the IT industry.
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Edited by:

Jayant Chhabra