“misogynoir can come even from those who are Black, who were raised by Black women and profess to value Black people.” In this show in particular, Chris Rock is the poster-boy for misogynoir.

| Original Score: 0 | Jul 22, 2023

He’s treading water at times, but the invariable finale where he reflects on being slapped by Will Smith live onstage at the Academy Awards is stinging: a settling of a score somehow both righteous and vituperative.

| Mar 16, 2023

I personally don’t begrudge Rock the gazillions he earns from this shtick. But as with fellow masters of the art you cannot help but think: what a gloriously easy way to earn a living!

| Mar 16, 2023

Both more and less than comedy, funny but also the occasion for a lot of clapter from Rock’s fans. Rock delivered on all the expectations swirling through social media over the past year, but it’s also OK if we never hear about that slap again.

| Mar 16, 2023

Selective Outrage seems mostly recycled, dated and by-the-numbers for Rock.

| Mar 13, 2023

Problematic messages aside, jokes about the Kardashian sisters’ sexual partners and Caitlin Jenner’s gender identity are lazy relics unworthy of Rock’s talents...

| Mar 13, 2023

Some of the jokes come straight from the boomer persona that Rock inhabits in the internet-frenzied world that he is trying to satirize, and for better or for worse, the comedian wouldn’t care, or will he?

| Mar 12, 2023

None of the jokes will rise to the level of iconic, or even memorable, I’m afraid. Yet Rock reminds us of his icon status simply by opening his mouth. His delivery works when nothing else does—and, in Selective Outrage, little did.

| Mar 10, 2023

Irony of ironies, Will Smith’s worst moment has produced Chris Rock’s best.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 9, 2023

But much like he did in Tamborine, Rock shifts his focus in the second half of his special from observations about the world to look inward at himself and how he’s reacting to the world now that he’s single again in his 50s.

| Mar 9, 2023

Rock’s slap-back at Smith revives the insecurity and evident immaturity that characterized their altercation. (Both men misbehaved.) Selective Outrage provides no helpful insight into the temperamental differences that erupted at last year’s Oscars.

| Mar 8, 2023

Rock’s personal grievance with Smith is legitimate, but by trying to mash it into the shape of a cultural cautionary tale, he does himself and his comedy a disservice.

| Mar 8, 2023

As live television, it was intermittently interesting, then briefly compelling; as comedy, it will be a minor entry in Rock’s estimable stand-up catalog.

| Mar 7, 2023

Netflix sold the show as if it were steak when, at best, we were only ever going to get a McDonald's hamburger. Now, is that an acceptable, solid substitution for the best version of his work?

| Mar 7, 2023

On paper, it all seems thrilling and possibly combustible. Which is why it is so disappointing when, in life, Chris Rock’s Selective Outrage cannot rise to the moment.

| Mar 6, 2023

While courting indignation via pervasive buzzwords certainly isn’t all Rock did, “Selective Outrage” was in no way built to last. Half the jokes were obsolete before he finished saying them.

| Original Score: C- | Mar 6, 2023

Selective Outrage does not hit as many sweet spots as Rock’s early live work, but at its most muscular it confirms that he can still be a force to be reckoned with.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 6, 2023

Selective Outrage has little emotional insight. And, save for a few moments of nervous tension, the live broadcast is as pre-heated as, well, airplane food.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 6, 2023

Rock remains worth listening to, because there’s nothing casual about what he does, and most important, he knows how to craft and sell a joke. You may laugh even as you’re offended.

| Mar 6, 2023

In this special, Rock seemed more raw than usual, sloppier, cursing more often and less precisely. This was a side of him you hadn’t seen before.

| Mar 6, 2023