Chris Rock reclaimed the infamous Oscar slap incident and then jokes publicly about the controversy. Thursday, on the standup set at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the 57-year-old comedian joked about the long-winded impact of Smith’s strike. Which was at the 94th Academy Awards 2022 on March 27.
During a new live comedy show “Ego Death”, Rock said that words don’t hurt as much as being hit in the face. Rock said, according to People magazine:
“I’m okay if anybody was wondering, got most of my hearing back.”
“Don’t expect me to talk about the bulls,” I’ll talk about it at some point on Netflix.”
“Your tickets were expensive, but not that expensive.”
Rock continued:
“Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face.”
Chris Rock Responds to Will Smith’s Oscars Slap at Standup Show
The comedian once explained that he would not discuss the slap. Until he saw a check with his name on it. He told fans during a surprise visit to a comedy cellar in New York City:
“I’m OK. I have a whole show, and I’m not talking about that until I get paid, he told the audience last month during a comedy performance at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. But just a week before his casino gig, the creator of ‘Everybody Hates Chris. Lower your expectations. I’m not going to address that s**t.”
According to People magazine, during the Oscars Smith walked onstage and knocked Rock in reaction to a joke the comedian made about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. After that incident, Smith who went on to win Best Actor, for his overall performance in King Richard publicly apologized to Rock. Will Smith recently retired from the Academy. This also banned the actor from attending occasions for 10 years.
He further added:
“How was your weekend? he began with a knowing wink, drawing a wave of laughter. 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. So, at some point, I’ll talk about that shit. And it will be serious and funny.”
An audience member then screamed “F*ck Will Smith!” but Rock ignored the comment and continued. Later on Monday, Smith issued an apology to Rock on Instagram:
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. 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. Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.”
Rock declined to press charges, but the Academy has launched an investigation into the situation.
