(CelebrityAccess) – Chris Rock, standing in front of a sold-out crowd in Boston’s Wilbur Theatre, said he’s “still kind of processing what happened,” and made it clear that was all he was going to say on the subject for the rest of the night. The performances came just three days after Will Smith smacked the comedian for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith while presenting an Academy Award.
The news-times reports that Rock received several standing ovations before he opened his mouth Wednesday night (March 30) at the sold-out show. “How was your weekend?”, Rock joked before getting into his first set.
Rock didn’t mention Smith or Pinkett Smith by name at his show in Boston. Wearing all white, the comedian appeared to be getting emotional by the multiple ovations he received, a guest seated near the stage told The Associated Press. “Other than the weird thing, life is pretty good,” Rock said midway through his first of two sets.
Wanda Sykes, who co-hosted the Oscars with Amy Schumer and Regina Hall, said she felt physically ill after Smith slapped Rock. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres scheduled to air April 7, Sykes also said letting Smith stay and accept his award should not have happened.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences condemned Smith striking Rock. Its governors met Wednesday to discuss disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations of the group’s standards of conduct. The academy said it had asked Smith to leave the ceremony after hitting Rock, but he refused to do so. “Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated,” the academy said. “While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently.”
“Mr. Smith’s actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television,” the academy said. “Mr. Rock, we apologize to you for what you experienced on our stage and thank you for your resilience in that moment. We also apologize to our nominees, guests and viewers for what transpired during what should have been a celebratory event.”
On Monday (March 28), Smith issued a public apology to Rock, the academy and to viewers, saying “I was out of line and I was wrong.”
