Comedian and actor Chris Rock received a standing ovation as he took center stage on Wednesday at his comedy show in Boston where he addressed the audience for the first time about the infamous face slap he received from actor Will Smith at the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday.
"Let me do a show, y'all!" Rock yelled to the sold-out Boston crowd at the Wilbur Theatre. "Y'all got me all feisty and sh*t."
"How was your weekend?" Rock asked booming crowd. "I had a whole list of jokes. I had a whole show I wrote before this weekend, and I'm still kind of processing what happened."
Audience members responded to Rock's opening remarks yelling, "F*ck, Will Smith," according to Fox News.
"At some point I'll talk about that s*** and it will be serious, and it will be funny." Rock continued.
Tickets for Chris Rock's "Ego Death" comedy tour saw a surge in sales following the slap talked about worldwide.
Citing sales from secondary ticketing marketplace TickPick, ComicBook reported that more tickets had been sold overnight to see Rock in the city of Boston than in the past month combined.
TickPick also reported that the cheapest tickets for the show sold at $46 on March 18 skyrocketed 641 percent to $341.
During the Oscars on Sunday evening, actor Will Smith walked on stage and slapped Rock in the face after he made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. "Jada, I love you, GI Jane 2, can't wait to see it," Rock joked.
Wow. Will Smith just punched Chris Rock live during the Oscars. pic.twitter.com/RRDMHLtp6S
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) March 28, 2022
Rock was referring to GI Jane actress Demi Moore, who shaved her head for the role. Pinkett Smith lost her hair due to alopecia.
Following the slap, Rock said "Wow. Wow! Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me."
"Keep my wife's name out of your f*cking mouth," Smith said upon returning to his seat.
While Smith did not immediately apologize directly to Rock during his award acceptance speech later that evening, he later released an apology on Instagram.
"Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally," Smith wrote on Instagram.
"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 added.
The Academy does not condone violence of any form.
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 28, 2022
Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.
"I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us," Smith concluded, adding: "I am a work in progress."
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