Chris Rock refused to address the controversy surrounding Will Smith slapping him at the The Oscars last week.
The 57-year-old veteran comedian showed up for a surprise stand-up set at New York City’s iconic Comedy Cellar on Tuesday night.
He, however, made it known that he wouldn’t be addressing the slap incident at the Oscars.
A source told Page Six that as soon as Chris got on stage he got on the microphone and said: ‘Lower your expectations, I’m not going to address that s***.’
The star began his Ego Death comedy tour last week and many dates sold out after the slapping incident.
The source also revealed that Chris joked about the new interest in his stand-up performances and that he was workshopping material because ‘all of a sudden people cared about his early shows.’
The talented comedian has refused to go into any detail about the Academy Awards incident for the most part but did stop fans from cursing out Will during his comedy show in Boston on Thursday night.
‘F**k Will Smith!’ a fan shouted, likely in an attempt to show support for Chris days after Will slapped him onstage during Hollywood’s biggest night.
‘No, no, no, no, no…’ the comedian replied, according to People, putting an end to the verbal attacks.
The night before, during his first public appearance since the Oscars slap, Rock was also met with ‘Will Smith’ chants from the audience, and the comedian briefly address the slap during the show, noting that he still needs time to ‘process’ the assault.
He also told the crowd: ‘I haven’t talked to anyone, despite what you heard,’ referencing rumors that Rock and Smith had made amends.
Rock took to the stage at the Wilbur Theatre on Wednesday and asked: ‘How was your weekend?’
The question got a big laugh from the crowd, but Rock warned those at the sold-out venue that the show would go on as planned.
‘I don’t have like a bunch of s*** to say about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I had like a whole show I wrote before… this weekend…’ he said to more laughs. ‘And I’m still kind of processing what happened.
‘So at some time I’ll talk about that s***… and it’ll be serious. It’ll be funny,’ he said before an audience member shouted, ‘F*** Will!’
‘I’m gonna tell some jokes,’ Rock concluded, later revealing that he hasn’t spoken to ‘anyone’ since the incident, alluding to reports that he and Smith have reconciled.
Meanwhile, his 42-year-old younger brother Kenny said The Academy should strip him of his Oscar a week-and-a-half after the now notorious slapping altercation.
Chris’ sibling told the Los Angeles Times that he has had trouble repeatedly watching the now infamous moment involving his brother from last week’s Oscars ceremony and that he should be stripped of the Best Actor trophy.
He said: ‘It eats at me watching it over and over again because you’ve seen a loved one being attacked and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Every time I’m watching the videos, it’s like a rendition that just keeps going over and over in my head.’
Kenny continued to express his distaste for the A-list actor’s actions.
He said: ‘My brother was no threat to him and you just had no respect for him at that moment.
‘You just belittled him in front of millions of people that watch the show.’
On Friday, Will resigned from The Academy calling his actions during the ceremony ‘shocking, painful and inexcusable,’ adding that he would accept any additional consequences issued by the Academy’s Board of Governors.
‘The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,’ Smith said. ‘I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken.’
Chris’ brother Kenny was asked if he accepts Will’s apology and says he doesn’t especially considering that it took so long to get it out of the I Am Legend star.
He explained: ‘I might have looked at it differently had he initially apologized when he got on the stage and cried and accepted the award, but he didn’t, so, right there that tells me that it is something else.’
