What Chris Rock Said About Will Smith Slap in First Stand-up Performance Since Oscars

Days after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, Rock has opened up about the incident. In his first stand-up performance since the dramatic moment Sunday night and since Smith's public apology to Rock, Rock addressed the elephant in the room.

Variety reports that during Rock's gig in Bost, the comedian received a standing ovation when he came onto the stage. After receiving an overwhelmingly positive response, Rock acknowledged the topic that was on everyone's mind. He began by joking, "How was your weekend?" However, fans didn't get much more of a reaction. Rock went on to say that he didn't have a ton to share about the Oscars incident, as he prepared his show before it took place. Still, he did offer a brief statement about the ordeal.

"I don't have a bunch of s— about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend," Rock said. "I'm still kind of processing what happened. So, at some point, I'll talk about that s—. And it will be serious and funny." At one point, a member of the audience chanted, "F— Will Smith!" Rock focused on his material and began his set by saying, "I'm going to tell some jokes. It's nice to just be out."

About an hour later, Rock returned to the stage for a second show where he was greeted with another standing ovation, CNN reports. "I wrote a show before all this nonsense happened," he said, reiterating that he planned to talk about the Oscars incident in more detail at some point. Then, seemingly in reference to whether he's spoken privately with Smith, Rock said, "I haven't talked to anyone, despite what you heard."

This marked the first time that Rock addressed the incident since it took place on Sunday. The moment occurred after Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith's shaved head, saying he was looking forward to seeing her in the hypothetical G.I. Jane 2 — a reference to Demi Moore's bald head when she starred in G.I. Jane. Rock reportedly did not know about Pinkett Smith's struggles with alopecia and hair loss. Smith then walked on stage and slapped Rock across the face. Once he got back to his seat, he told the comedian, "Keep my wife's name out of your f—ing mouth!" 

Amid the controversy, Smith issued a public apology to the Saturday Night Live alum. His statement read, "I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness." He continued to express his remorse to the Academy and those associated with King Richard, the movie for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Smith added, "I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us. I am a work in progress."