Chris Rock has finally acknowledged the infamous Will Smith slap that took place onstage at the 2022 Oscars last Sunday night at a stand-up performance in Boston.
After staying silent on the matter in the days following the altercation, Rock, via Variety, told his crowd at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre that he is “still processing” what transpired.
Beginning the show with a pointed “How was your weekend?”, Rock went on to say that the show he’s performing has nothing to do with the Oscars.
“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. I’m still kind of processing what happened.
However, Rock also indicated that he’ll release a statement on the matter when he’s ready and that it will be both “serious and funny.”
“So, at some point I’ll talk about that shit. And it will be serious and funny.”
According to Variety, Rock, donning an all-white suit, walked onto the stage to a roaring, standing ovation that he tried to quell with several attempts — “Yo, let me do the show!”
Following his brief address of the incident, an audience member reportedly shouted “Fuck Will Smith!” before Rock responded, “I’m going to tell some jokes now.”
Smith walked onstage at the Oscars and slapped Rock in the face after the comedian made a joke at the expense of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, taking a jab at her shaved head (a style she chose due to her alopecia).
In contrast to Rock, Smith has addressed the slap multiple times since it happened. He apologized to the Academy and those watching while he was accepting his Best Actor award for King Richard, and again on Instagram — this time directly to Rock.
