Chris Rock Makes Will Smith Joke at Stand-up Show

Chris Rock cracked a joke about Will Smith during one of his latest stand-up comedy shows, signaling that he may be ready to talk about the 2022 Oscars situation at last. Rock is currently co-headlining a tour with Kevin Hart, and they performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday night. There, attendees say that Rock joked about being slapped by Smith.

An anonymous fan who attended Rock and Hart’s show told Entertainment Tonight about the joke. They said: “Chris made a joke about Will during a bit about ‘cancel culture,’ joking that ‘anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face.’” This was likely Rock’s most direct reference to the Oscars ceremony since February, although many of his shows since then have required fans to hand over their cell phones, so there’s no telling for sure.

Fans still have plenty of questions about what happened between Rock and Smith at the Oscars. Rock was telling a few jokes during his moment on stage before he was supposed to present an award. One of his comments was about Jada Pinkett Smith, who had just recently begun to wear her bald hairstyle openly. Apparently, Rock did not know that she had chosen to go bald because she was suffering from alopecia, and he joked that she must be preparing to star in a sequel to G.I. Jane.

Smith walked up on stage and slapped Rock hard in the face, catching the entire crowd by surprise. He then screamed at Rock for a moment before the show could get back on track. Fans have been hoping for a detailed explanation from Rock in his stand-up comedy and from the Smith family on their Red Table Talk show, but so far neither side has given an explanation.

In the meantime, Rock and Hart were joined by another comedian whose physical safety has been called into question recently. Their show on Saturday night included a surprise opening set by Dave Chappelle, who reportedly joked about being tackled onstage back in May. Chappelle also joked about his recently relocated show in Minneapolis, which had to change venues after employees at the first venue refused to work in protest of Chappelle’s jokes about transgender people.

In spite of these controversies, the show was a star-studded event. Rock, Hart and Chappelle were reportedly joined by Jay-Z, Questlove and several other prominent stars. The source said that they went on to party late into the night. Fans are eager for Rock to address the Oscars situation more directly on the record.