Here's the deal ... we all know Chris' live Netflix show is going down tonight, and everyone's expecting him to discuss the slap at length for the first time, publicly, on his own terms. The problem ... he's been working out his jokes on this topic for months, and one particular bit he recently did about Will was widely reported this week ... and Twitter ain't feeling it.

The Baltimore Sun came out with a story about a comedy show Chris did there in mid-February ... where he reportedly touched on the Oscars and said to the crowd, "The other day, I watched 'Emancipation' just so I could watch him getting whipped."

Of course, he's referring to Will's character from the film -- a runaway slave named "Whipped Peter" who was infamously depicted in a photo from the 1800s with scars on his back.

That quote has made the rounds these past few days, and now ... Chris Rock is trending for all the wrong reasons, because it seems a good majority of folks have turned on him.

Whereas he had sympathy in the wake of the slap -- especially for how he handled it -- a lot of time has passed ... and a lot of people have aired their grievances about Chris since then ... including the notion that he might've had it coming -- harsh, but it's a POV out there.

Now, in light of this new joke that may or may not make the special ... even more people are groaning, especially if he actually works it in. It appears some feel like leaning in the way he seems set to do is overkill -- and not just that, but many feel him exploiting the ugly moment a full year later is cringeworthy. And yet, Chris is powering forward ... as is Netflix.

Time will tell what Chris does onstage. Like we said, this is live -- but if he cares about public opinion (which he usually doesn't) he might wanna peep Twitter right quick.😬