Comedian Chris Rock has performed in public for the first time since Oscar-winning actor Will Smith slapped him for a joke about Smith's wife during the Academy Awards show.
Rock told the audience in Boston that he is "still kind of processing what happened" and wouldn't talk about it at length. The nighttime performance on Wednesday comes just three days after Smith slapped Rock on the Oscars stage, stunning the crowd at the 94th Academy Awards and those watching at home.
Rock had made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's buzzed haircut. Pinkett Smith has spoken publicly about her diagnosis of alopecia, which can cause baldness. Smith has publicly apologized.
Variety shared a grainy audio recording of the comments at the showon Twitter as a crowd cheered.
Chris Rock just addressed the Will Smith #Oscars slap for the first time during a sold-out stand-up show in Boston. https://t.co/Keka0MVhSd
— Variety (@Variety) March 31, 2022
Listen to the audio 👇 pic.twitter.com/TuqE8AHs6C
At the end of the recorded clip, Rock says, "I'm gonna tell some jokes, it's nice to just be out."
