Chris Rock is no stranger to controversial moments while on stage. The comedian, actor, and filmmaker was famously the recipient of a slap, courtesy of the usually placid Will Smith while hosting the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony after making a joke about the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
To give Rock credit, whatever you think of the joke that caused the slap, he took it like a champ, remained professional, and saw out the rest of the show at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. However, a more recent on-stage incident has reportedly caused the 59-year-old to storm out of the respective event. Rock was performing a comedy routine at an Australian billionaire’s holiday party in New York City over the weekend when he abruptly left the stage.
Packaging mogul Anthony Pratt was hosting an opulent gathering at the Big Apple’s 5-star Mandarin Oriental hotel to mark his move from Melbourne to the city after receiving his green card in October. Per the New York Post, Rock’s stand-up routine wasn’t listed on the program, so his emergence on the stage surprised the crowd of notable guests, who included Australian-American country singer Keith Urban, veteran actor George Hamilton, former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, and former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott.
But Rock’s appearance was brief. He was reportedly a hit for the short time he was there, but after spotting someone or something in the crowd, he abruptly left. Cindy Adams wrote in the aforementioned New York Post column, “Whatever he saw — or thought he saw — upset him. Like he went momentarily ape and shouted something like he wasn’t supposed to be taped, videoed, reported or whatever else wasn’t supposed to happen.” Adams added that Rock “didn’t complain, didn’t explain” why he was leaving but was subsequently seen forcefully “barrelling” his way through the crowd to do so, and said, “He kept b****ing loudly and, without a second’s hesitation, stormed out — never to return.”
Apparently, the crowd was incredibly confused by the whole thing, but they weren’t left disappointed, as Keith Urban took to the stage for renditions of his biggest hits for 90 minutes.
As for Pratt, he’s got something of a reputation for the lavish parties he throws. The 64-year-old is the chairman of Australian-based company Visy and United States-based recycling company Pratt Industries, and his net worth is reportedly around $11.3 billion (per Forbes).
The fees Rock and Urban received for their performances remain unclear (whether Rock got paid at all after walking out shouldn’t be a certainty), but Pratt has been known to give guest performers at his bashes significant amounts of money. In February, he paid Katy Perry $1.5 million to fly to Melbourne to perform in front of 220 guests at his luxurious and historic mansion.
Hopefully, more information will emerge about what made Rock storm off stage (maybe Will Smith was in the crowd, shaking his fist!). If and when that information comes to light, we’ll be sure to tell you about it quickly.
Published: Dec 10, 2024 06:25 am