There has been plenty of commentary about the Academy Awards’ recent scandal, but one person who has yet to have his voice heard is Chris Rock. The world watched in real-time as Rock cracked a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith before her husband Will Smith walked up to the stage and slapped Rock across the face. The shocking moment was first believed to be staged, but it has become clear that the altercation was no laughing matter.
Rock’s brother Tony Rock offered brief insight during a Twitter Q&A with fans and Smith has offered a public apology. This evening (March 30), fans flooded Chris Rock’s sold-out comedy show in Boston hoping to hear him break his silence on the incident. They were in luck.
Rock was reportedly welcomed by a rousing standing ovation, so much so that he joked that he needed to begin the show.
“How was your weekend?” he asked the crowd. “I don’t have a bunch of sh*t [to say] 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 sh*t. And it will be serious and funny.”
According to Variety, someone in the audience screamed, “F*ck Will Smith.” Rock didn’t seem to acknowledge the insult.
“I’m going to tell some jokes,” he said. “It’s nice to just be out.” Listen to the audio shared by Variety below.