Chris Rock kicked off his Ego Death World Tour in Boston and broke his silence about the altercation with Will Smith.
Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor after slapping presenter Chris Rock on stage over a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s haircut.
The 57-year-old comedian recently opened up about being bullied as a child before the Oscars altercation.
Will Smith has issued a public apology but has not reached out to Rock, according to his brother.
Chris Rock gets a standing ovation
The legendary comedian appeared on stage to a sold-out crowd at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston. He was met with a standing ovation that lasted 2-3 minutes as the attendees applauded Chris Rock.
In an audio clip obtained by Deadline and heard by Monsters and Critics, he asked the crowd, “How was your weekend?” which was greeted with laughter and more cheers.
Rock spoke briefly about the altercation but did not directly mention the Oscars ceremony or Will Smith.
“I don’t have a bunch of s**t about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend, and I’m still kind of processing what happened,” Rock said, continuing, “So at some point, I’ll talk about that s**t. And it’ll be serious, and it’ll be funny.”
An audience member reportedly heckled the Oscar-winning actor, yelling: “F**k Will Smith.”
Will Smith refused to leave after slapping Chris Rock
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors is set to meet to determine if action will be taken to punish Will Smith for his assault on Chris Rock.
“Consistent with the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, as well as California law, Mr. Smith is being provided at least 15 days’ notice of a vote regarding his violations and sanctions and the opportunity to be heard beforehand by means of a written response,” the Academy said, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Smith could face suspension, expulsion, or other sanctions from the Academy if the board agrees in their next scheduled meeting on April 18, the statement continued.
Following the incident, many questioned how Will Smith was allowed to stay and receive his award after assaulting the host on stage; an Academy rep confirmed they asked Smith to leave.
“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,” they said.
It is unclear who asked Smith to leave or whether the request was made to the actor directly.
There won’t be no sanctions because he’s a Hollywood puppet. That was not having balls s**t that was I know the boss s**t.