Celebrity
Chris Rock Greeted With A Standing Ovation At First Show After Will Smith’s Smack
Smith had been asked to leave the Oscars after the incident, but he REFUSED.
In his first public response to Oscar’s shocking incident, Chris Rock told his audience at his sold-out show in Boston he was still processing what happened and will at some point talk about the s***. The comedian attested it’ll be serious and funny, but currently, he’s all about telling some jokes.
The 57-Year-Old seemingly confirmed he has not spoken with Smith since being smacked on live television.
With the crowd all handing over their cell phones before the show started, the former SNL star was greeted with a long-standing ovation in the first of two sets he performed as part of his Ego Death Tour. But then, the funnyman instantly shut down any hopes he would crack jokes about the slap to the 3K fans in the audience, some of whom reportedly paid about $1000 for a ticket.
As tears gathered in his eyes, Rock started his show and said: “Let me be all misty and s***. I don’t have a bunch of s*** to say about that, so if you came here for that, I had written a whole show before this weekend.”
The comedian had dressed in white as he took the stage at the Wilbur Theatre. But he’s pictured here arriving in Boston ahead of his sold-out show.
He added: “I’m still processing what happened, so at some point, I’ll talk about that s***. It’ll be serious. It’ll be funny, but right now, I’m going to tell some jokes.” He then said of Smith: “I haven’t talked to anyone, despite what you heard.” Twice into the show, a couple of audiences yelled: “Will Smith,” drawing a far louder chorus of boos. Reportedly, a man had even been dragged out by security guards.
Police confirmed the man was maced and kicked out of the theater by multiple security guards. The incident disrupted Rock, who then responded, asking: “Is this how this tour is going to go?”
Chris Rock just addressed the Will Smith #Oscars slap for the first time during a sold-out stand-up show in Boston. https://t.co/Keka0MVhSd
— Variety (@Variety) March 31, 2022
Listen to the audio 👇 pic.twitter.com/TuqE8AHs6C
Into the show, Rock then commented on his life in general, revealing that except for some weird things, life is pretty good right now. His audience laughed, knowing precisely what the weird things referred to. He appeared unfazed as he delivered his high-energy routine, keeping his crowd roaring and gasping as he joked about everything from overweight people at Disney parks to his decision to get a vasectomy.
However, as Rock left the Wilbur Theatre, the comedian remained tight-lipped about being slapped.
He’s pictured backstage at his show with another comedian, Mike Troy.
Rock took the stage after it emerged that Smith had refused to leave the Oscars after being approached by the heads of the Academy of Motion Pictures. The Academy said on Wednesday that the actor ignored the request from the president, David Rubin, and CEO, Dawn Hudson [both pictured below], to leave and that he had violated their code of conduct.
They have since launched disciplinary procedures against Smith and confirmed he ignored their request for him to leave his seat. They also apologized to Rock.
Two sources told TMZ that Rubin and Hudson were furious at Smith, and there was plenty of yelling and heated conversations backstage with his reps after the incident. Nonetheless, Smith will receive 15days notice of a vote and an opportunity to be heard by a written response. The Academy might take action at the next board meeting, slated for April 18th.
The action on Smith could include suspension, expulsion, or other sanctions permitted by the Bylaws and Standards of Conduct.
