Chris Rock getting his face rearranged by Will Smith has made the comedian’s upcoming tour more popular than ever. I guess it’s true that we all love drama.
Secondary ticket purchasing site TickPick recently announced that it sold more tickets for Rock’s shows in one night than it had sold for the past month. Prices of the tickets also jumped up over 200% — initially at $46 per ticket on March 18, to a minimum of $341 currently.
Comedy is an extremely reactive profession, one that is dictated by what’s going on in pop culture from which comedians build routines upon. It’s clear that many are hoping Rock, who’s notorious for implementing what’s going on today in his routines, will speak about the aftermath of the slap heard around the world.
We sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined.— TickPick (@TickPick) 1648478347
At the 2022 Oscars, Rock, when introducing the award for Best Documentary, made a joke to Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, about her hair, saying, "Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see ya."
Smith, after initially laughing, quickly strode on stage and slapped the shit out of Rock in an event that shocked the world. Afterwards, as Rock stood on the stage flabbergasted, trying to mentally put his face and jaw back together, Smith yelled from his seat, "Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth."
The rest of the show continued without a hitch, with Denzel Washington and Bradley Cooper reportedly pulling Smith aside shortly after the incident to make sure that he was okay.
Hours after the show, Smith issued an apology to Rock. "I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris," he said. "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."
Smith won his first-ever Oscar for Best Actor In a Leading Role for King Richard, but the show’s committee is launching an official review of the situation which could determine if he gets to keep the honor or not.
Rock, on his behalf, hasn’t spoken out about the incident. He’ll probably save it for the tour, which is called Ego Death World Tour. He’ll be performing alongside Kevin Hart for a few of its dates this summer in New York and New Jersey. The entire tour will encompass stops in 30 different cities.
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