Actor Chris Rock speaks onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022.
Robyn Beck | Afp | Getty Images
Fans hoping Chris Rock would speak at length about Will Smith slapping him at the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday may have been disappointed Wednesday night during his first show since the incident in Boston.
In leaked audio from the sold-out show, Rock can be heard saying “I don’t have a bunch of s— to say about that.”
He joked with the crowd that he had written his latest stand-up show well in advance of the Oscars and said “I’m still kind of processing what happened.”
According to an NBC News reporter present at the show, Rock received multiple standing ovations. He started out by asking “So, how was your weekend?,” eliciting chuckles from the crowd.
Rock segued into his prepared material by saying “I’m just gonna tell some jokes” and telling the audience that “at some point I’ll talk about that s—“
Ticket sales for Rock’s comedy tour have skyrocketed in price on secondary markets since Sunday. StubHub, a ticket exchange and resale company, said it saw 25x the daily sales for Rock’s shows in the days following the Oscar incident, exceeding cumulative sales for the comedian’s tour during the entire month of March.
On Monday, Smith took to social media to formally apologize to Rock, calling his behavior “unacceptable and inexcusable.” He had previously apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees during his acceptance speech for best actor on Sunday.
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