Chris Rock gets standing ovation at his show in first appearance since Oscas, says ‘still kind of processing it’

Three days after Chris Rock was slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars, the 57-year-old comedian opened his Ego Death World Tour on Wednesday (early Thursday as per IST). He received an applause from the Boston audience as he arrived on stage and was almost embarrassed by the multiple standing ovations he received. He was spotted for the first time after the incident in Boston on Tuesday. Also read: Oscars co-host Amy Schumer is ‘triggered and traumatised’ by Will Smith incident: ‘Chris Rock handled it like a pro’

While the ticket prices for his six shows skyrocketed after the Oscar confrontation, the comedian made it clear he wasn’t going to talk at length about the incident. “If you came to hear that, I’m not … I had like a whole show I wrote before this weekend,” he said.

During his performance, Chris only briefly addressed the slap, saying he was “still kind of processing what happened” at the Oscars and never mentioned Will by name. “Other than the weird thing, life is pretty good,” he said at one point mid-way through his act.

Chris wore all white for his performance. As the applause carried on for minutes — with fans yelling “I love you, Chris!” — the comedian appeared to be getting emotional. “How was your weekend?” Chris joked before getting into his set.

Chris has been making headlines ever since Will Smith smacked him on stage at the Academy Awards after he made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s buzzed haircut. Jada has spoken publicly about her diagnosis of alopecia, which can cause baldness. “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” Chris said while presenting an award, comparing her to Demi Moore’s G.I. Jane character, who had a buzz cut in the 1997 film.

Will promptly stood up from his seat and took to the stage, slapping Chris across the face before sitting back down and yelling at him to keep his wife’s name out of his mouth. Chris has not filed a legal complaint against Will who has apologised to him through an Instagram post.

(With AP inputs)

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop