During the 94th Academy Awards, a certain moment took social media by storm. Everyone with access to the internet had something to say about the moment when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars – everyone, that is, except for one of the main parties in question, Chris Rock himself. However, despite being relatively quiet about the incident, the star has finally broken his silence on the matter.
While presenting the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith being bald – a condition which is due to the autoimmune disorder alopecia. In response, Will Smith proceeded to slap Rock during the ceremony and shout, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth.” Since the divisive moment, Will Smith has issued an apology, the Academy has made a statement, and now finally, Rock has also spoken up about what he experienced.
According to Variety, on March 30, during a stand-up set in Boston, Rock walked up onto the Wilbur Theatre and revealed that he is still processing what actually befell him.
“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,” Rock explained. “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.”
Rock’s silence may have contributed to the impressive ticket sales for his upcoming stand-up comedy tour, ‘Ego Death World Tour’, next month. People are undoubtedly curious to hear what jokes and thoughts he will attribute to ‘The Slap’ in his set.
The Academy has also publicly declared its stance regarding Smith’s action during its ceremony. “The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show,” the statement read. “We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law.”