Chris Rock briefly addressed getting slapped by Will Smith during his first public appearance after the Oscars.
The comedian received a standing ovation Wednesday night when he opened the first of two back-to-back shows at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre. “Let me do a show, yo,” the 57-year-old comedian told the audience according to Variety. “You got me all misty.”
Related Story: Film Academy Ripped for Saying Will Smith Was Asked to Leave Oscars But ‘Refused’
Rock added that he would dive deeper into Slapgate later, but he wasn’t ready to discuss it just yet.
“How was your weekend?” he said. “I don’t have a bunch of sh-t about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend. I’m still kind of processing what happened. So, at some point I’ll talk about that sh-t. And it will be serious and funny.”
During one moment, an audience member yelled “F–k Will Smith!” before the comedian resumed the show.
After the Oscars altercation, tickets for the sold-out show were going for as much as $8,000 on secondary sites, some news outlet reported.
Fans outside the Wilbur Theatre in Boston were full of anticipation for comedian Chris Rock's first standup performance following the #Oscars https://t.co/iVSdtJeOvu pic.twitter.com/BFpNqzc13j
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 31, 2022
“We sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined,” ticket marketplace TickPick tweeted in a statement on Monday.
Tickets for the show were at an original starting point of $49.50.
On Monday, Smith apologized in a post on Instagram for slapping Rock. “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable,” he wrote.
In the latest twist, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released a statement Wednesday, saying Smith was asked to leave the Dolby Theatre after slapping Rock, but “refused.”
