All eyes were on Chris Rock Wednesday night during his first stand-up show since Will Smith slapped him on live TV at the Oscars on Sunday night. During the second of two gigs in Boston Wednesday, Rock implied that he had not spoken privately with Smith about the incident. “I haven’t talked to anyone despite what you may have heard,” he said, as reported by Deadline. Smith publicly apologized to Rock on Instagram Monday, but it doesn’t sound like the two have had a private conversation.
Rock, who had yet to open up about the incident, broke his silence during the first of two shows on Wednesday. “How was your weekend?” he joked at the start of the show to the crowd, who gave a minutes-long standing ovation. Although he did not give many more details, citing the fact that he had already written his show before the Oscars, he did say that he is “still kinda processing what happened.”
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Rock said that “at some point” he will talk about “that s—,” and “it will be serious, and it will be funny.” He added that he was “going to tell some jokes” before segueing into his set while an audience member yelled, “F— Will Smith.”
Rock’s Ego Death World Tour 2022 will keep him in Boston through Thursday before he moves on to his next stop on the tour in Atlantic City on Friday. The 50-show tour will run through mid-November.
Rock’s brother, Tony Rock, addressed the slap on Twitter earlier this week, knocking Smith’s apology. “Do you approve of the apology?” one of Tony Rock’s Twitter followers asked him. “No,” he replied. Another asked if the reports that Sean “Diddy” Combs had said the two reconciled were untrue. “Yep,” Tony replied.
After winning Best Actor just minutes after the slap Sunday night, Smith apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees, but not to Rock. That apology came Monday on Instagram, where Smith called his behavior “unacceptable and inexcusable.”
Amid an official review into the violent incident, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Wednesday evening that Smith was asked to leave the ceremony after he slapped Rock but that he refused. The organization also recognized that it “could have handled the situation differently.” The organization’s Board of Governors will reportedly be examining the violations of its Standards of Conduct, including “inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior, and compromising the integrity of the Academy.” The Academy will give Smith a 15-day notice before a vote and the opportunity to submit a written response.
