Comedian Chris Rock made his first appearance since the incident at the Oscars last Sunday when actor Will Smith punched him onstage after Rock made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith.
Rock, 57, appeared at a theater in Boston on Wednesday night, where he addressed the matter. “I’m still processing what happened,” he told the audience, but never referred to Will Smith by name at any point in the presentation.
In Boston, attendees were forbidden from bringing phones or other recording devices to their seats. A showgoer told People magazine that Rock came on stage in Boston dressed in white and received a standing ovation.
The comedian was touched after receiving the audience, who applauded him for several minutes. “Let me cloud it up a little,” he told viewers, according to CNN. “We love you,” replied one viewer.
“How was your weekend?” he asked the audience, who responded with laughter. “I can’t say much about that,” he continued, referring to the incident with Smith. “Well, if that’s why you came here…” he said, pausing. “I had a whole show written before this weekend. I’m still processing what happened, so I’ll talk about it at some point. It is getting serious. It will be fun. But for now I’m going to tell you some jokes.”
“Aside from this weird thing, life is going pretty well,” Rock said. The comedian is touring the United States and sales of his shows skyrocketed after the incident. His presentation in Boston took place just three days after the Oscars ceremony.
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The comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s shaved hair, similar to what Demi Moore wore in the film GI Jane, where Moore played a woman who trains for the army and shaved her hair.
“Jada, I love you. Can’t wait to see GI Jane 2,” Rock joked before presenting an award, comparing her to the character Moore played in the 1997 film.
Smith got up from his front-row seat and walked onto the stage, punching the comedian in the face and yelling at him to keep his wife’s name out of his mouth.
Minutes later, Smith won the Best Actor award and received a standing ovation. During his five-minute acceptance speech, Smith spoke of standing up for his family and apologized to the academy. A day later, Smith apologized to the comedian, the academy and viewers at home, saying he was “out of character” and that his actions were not “the man he wants to be.”
The academy said Wednesday that it asked Smith to leave the theater after the incident, but he refused. The institution also said it has launched a disciplinary process to consider whether to suspend or expel Smith.
