Since the major events that took place at the 2022 Academy Awards, we've heard from Will Smith, Jada Pinkett-Smith and The Academy — but we have yet to hear from the recipient of the infamous slap... until now.
Comedian Chris Rock spoke out for the first time since the incident during his "Ego Death Tour" stop in Boston, Massachusetts, and it seems like the shock from everything that transpired hasn't worn off just yet. When he performed his set, he made it clear that there's still some internalizing to be done on his part.
"I don't have a bunch of shit about what happened," he told the audience, per audio obtained by CNN. "So if you came to hear that, I had like a whole show I wrote before this weekend. And I'm still kind of processing what happened."
It seems that people really did expect Rock to comment on the slap at his shows. Ticket sales for his comedy tour surged after he was slapped by Smith at the 94th Academy Awards last weekend. TickPick announced that they sold more tickets for Rock’s shows in one night, following all the Oscars drama, than they had in the past month. Prices also went up to more than double the original $46 price to a $341 minimum.
Rock introduced the Best Documentary and, during his time on stage, made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and her hair. He said, "Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see ya."
Pinkett-Smith immediately rolled her eyes and shook her head, while Smith initially laughed. But moments later, he made his way to Rock and hit him across the face, much to everyone's shock and horror. Smith then sat back down and yelled, "Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth."
Smith has already issued an apology to Rock and the Academy and has also resigned from his position in the organization. He added that he would "accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate."
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