Chris Rock gets standing ovation at first show since getting slapped by Will Smith at Oscars 2022: “I’m still kind of processing what happened

Chris Rock returned to the stage on Wednesday night after an altercation with Will Smith on Oscars 2022 night on Sunday. In one of the most shocking turns of events on stage, comedian-actor Chris Rock was left stunned at the 2022 Academy Awards after Will Smith came on onstage and slapped the comedian across the face. The incident occurred after Rock, who was introducing the award for Best Documentary, poked fun at Jada Pinkett Smith about her hairdo. For unversed, Pinkett is suffering from auto-immune disease alopecia which results in hair loss.

Kicking off his comedy tour at the Wilbur in Boston, Rock got a standing ovation on Wednesday night that reportedly lasted two minutes.

Once the crowd settled in the seats, he asked, “How was your weekend?” to which the crowd was left in splits. “I don’t have a bunch of shit about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend, and I’m still kind of processing what happened,” Rock said. “So at some point, I’ll talk about that shit. And it’ll be serious, and it’ll be funny.”

He continued, “I’m going to tell some jokes. It’s nice to just be out.”

During his set, he said, “Except for some other pretty weird things, life is pretty good right now.” At the end of the show, he got another big standing ovation.

According to THR, “Ticket sales for his live comedy shows have soared since Sunday’s ceremony; indeed, one attendee at the Wilbur told The Hollywood Reporter that she spent $2,200 on two tickets in the aftermath of this weekend’s controversy.”

Will Smith on Monday issued a public apology to Chris Rock after slapping the comedian on stage at the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday night. He said, “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.”

Source: Bollywood Hungama