Chris Rock captured the attention of millions of Netflix viewers this weekend with his comedy special Selective Outrage, which was broadcast live from Hippodrome Theater in Baltimore on Saturday. While he notably messed up a punchline about Will Smith‘s movie Concussion, there was also another small botched detail that most people missed. It involved one of the most random references of the night, Smith’s 2004 movie Shark Tale.
The Dreamworks movie came up while Rock was comparing his physical stature to Smith’s, making it clear that he was no physical threat when the Suicide Squad and I Am Legend actor assaulted him at the 2022 Academy Awards.
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“People are like, ‘Did it hurt?’ It still hurts! I got ‘Summertime’ ringing in my ears!” he said, in reference to one of Smith’s songs. “But I’m not a victim, baby. You will never see me on Oprah, Gayle (King), crying.”
Rock continued, “Will Smith is significantly bigger than me He 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 Muhammed Ali in a movie! You think I auditioned for that part? I played Pookie in New Jack City. … Even in animation, he’s bigger: I’m a zebra, he’s a shark.”
Rock was citing his role as Marty the zebra in the Madagascar movie franchise. As for Smith’s shark role, it seems that Rock was referencing Shark Tale. However, Smith does not play a shark in that Dreamworks movie. The whole film revolves around the fact that Smith’s character, a Bluestreak cleaner wrasse named Oscar, is helping out a timid shark named Lenny (Jack Black). So, Rock’s joke doesn’t actually work as written.
Viewers online did notice the error even before it aired. Quotes from Rock’s previous performances of the material had leaked, and Twitter users had pointed out that the SNL alum was mistaken. Rock either didn’t catch wind of the mistake or just didn’t care. For what it’s worth, it doesn’t seem like the audience in attendance during the stream of Selective Outrage noticed. You can watch the special now via Netflix.
