Chris Rock has had one of the wildest weeks in Hollywood history, but that hasn’t stopped him from enjoying some time to himself. Rock was on the receiving end of a slap from Will Smith during the Oscars on Sunday, in what will definitely go down in history as one of live TV’s wildest moments. The reaction was immediate, and the media cycle is still in full swing. Despite Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head — which was reportedly made without him knowing of her alopecia diagnosis — triggering the incident, most of the heat within the entertainment industry is falling on Smith and Academy leadership.
So, while Will Smith was preparing to leave the Academy over the fiasco (ahead of a possible expulsion), Rock was able to sneak out and enjoy a few hours with minimal interference. After the media frenzy that was his Wednesday Boston standup show at The Wilbur, he was spotted out at the AMC Boston Common 19 on Thursday. In a photo obtained by TMZ, Rock kindly posed with a man named Gerard Cole in what seems to be a relatively deserted venue.
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The Saturday Night Live alum, 57, grabbed a hot dog, popcorn and a bottle of Dasani water before heading into his movie, which was not specified in the TMZ story. After the film, he went on to perform another show at The Wilbur.
To recap how we got here, Rock cracked a random joke about Jada’s shaved haircut while preparing to present the Academy Award for Best Documentary, saying she could star in a hypothetical G.I. Jane 2. Smith stormed the stage, slapped Rock and screamed “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—ing mouth” twice. As for what happened next, there’s been a giant back-and-forth in the media about when/if Academy higher-ups asked Smith to leave or not. Regardless, Smith did not leave and went on to win Best Actor a few minutes later.
In his acceptance speech, an emotional Smith apologized to the Academy and his King Richard collaborators, all while seemingly defending his actions by saying it was all to protect his family. He didn’t apologize to Rock. He then went on to party with friends and family after the ceremony, dancing to his own songs. He only apologized to Rock in a carefully crafted public statement released on Monday. The Academy higher-ups have been in a frenzy all week, trying to determine why Smith wasn’t ejected from the ceremony, which was held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. While Smith’s future in the Academy was up in the air, he went ahead and left the organization.
As for Rock, he’s tried to stay out of the conversation as much as possible. During his Boston standup shows, he only briefly addressed the matter. Furthermore, his words essentially were just to let fans know he wouldn’t be discussing the incident in full just yet.
“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, per Variety. “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.”
