Chris Rock Breaks His Silence On Will Smith Oscars Incident At His Comedy Show

After getting smacked by Smith on stage at the Academy Awards, the comedian stated, “I’m still processing what occurred.”

There’s been a lot of talk about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars on Sunday night in retaliation to a joke the comedian made about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

However, there was one person we had yet to hear from: Rock himself. He addressed the event briefly in public on Wednesday night at his first comic act since the incident. “I’m still processing what occurred,” Rock told the crowd at The Wilbur in Boston.

The comedian began the night with a tribute to the tragedy, strolling out to a standing ovation and said, “So, how’s it going in Boston? What did you think of your weekend?!”

Rock didn’t say much about the incident other than that he was still processing it, but he did assure the audience that he would most likely address it in a serious way at some time. But he eventually decided to concentrate on the jokes he’d prepared for the evening and moved on.

“I don’t have a bunch of s—- about what occurred,” Rock said in leaked audio from the event acquired by Variety. “If you came to hear that, I have a complete show I wrote before this weekend.” “I’m still trying to figure out what happened. So, at some point, I’ll address that nonsense. It will be both serious and humorous.”

Despite Rock’s silence on the subject, the Los Angeles Police Department revealed on Sunday night that he had decided not to seek assault charges against Smith. An industry insider reportedly told EW that Rock’s inciting joke was not part of the show’s script.

While accepting the Oscar for Best Actor, Smith noticeably left Rock out of his on-stage apologies to the Academy. “Love makes you do insane things,” he added in the speech, comparing his actions to his King Richard character Richard Williams — real-life father of tennis superstar sisters Venus and Serena Williams — as a family guardian.

Smith, on the other hand, issued a public apologetic statement on Monday, addressing Rock. He wrote, “I’d like to openly apologize to you, Chris.” “I was both out of line and incorrect. I’m embarrassed, and my actions do not reflect the guy I aspire to be. Violence has no place in a world of love and peace.”

Since then, several people in Hollywood have spoken out against the incident, including Oscar hosts Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes. Except for Rock, who contacted her at an after-party, Sykes said the incident left her physically uncomfortable. She also stated no one had apologized to the hosts.

“It was supposed to be your night,” Rock said, according to Sykes. “I’m really sorry; you, Amy, and Regina were doing such a fantastic job. This is going to be about this now.'”

Smith’s actions, according to the Academy, were in violation of its code of conduct, and the incident is currently being investigated by the Board of Governors. The body announced on Wednesday that disciplinary processes had begun, adding that Smith had been asked to leave the event following the assault, but had refused.

It is predicted that the investigation would take several weeks.

Source: ew.com