It’s been two weeks since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock live on the Oscar stage. And while Rock has yet to fully issue a response about the slap heard around the world, during one of his recent stand-up shows, Rock referenced the slap again.
In the immediate days leading up to the slap, Chris Rock began his stand-up tour in Boston. At the beginning of his first show, Rock admitted that he was “still kind of processing what happened.”
Instead, Rock said he “had a whole list of jokes before this week happened” and he intended on performing those jokes. “So at some point, I’ll talk about that shit. It’ll be serious. It’ll be funny, but right now I’m going to tell some jokes,” Rock added.
Chris Rock Reveals He Can Finally Hear Again After Will Smith Slap
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Now, to kick off his sold-out show at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Rock addressed the slap again, the Desert Sun reported.
After being welcomed with a standing ovation, Rock told the audience, “I’m OK, I have a whole show, and I’m not talking about that until I get paid. Life is good. I got my hearing back.”
It’s not exactly clear if the comment about losing his hearing for a short time was a joke or if he was serious. Smith slapped Rock pretty hard during the 94th Academy Awards.
Smith slapped him after he made a G.I. Jane joke towards Jada Pinkett Smith. Ever since being diagnosed with alopecia, Jada made the decision to shave her head completely.
Now, Will has resigned as a voting member of the Academy and was banned by the Academy for 10 years. He is still allowed to be nominated for any future roles.
Smith issued a formal statement accepting The Academy’s 10-year ban. “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision,” Smith said in a statement obtained by People.
In Smith’s public apology, he wrote, in part, “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally. 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. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
Chris Rock did not press charges against Will Smith.