Chris Rock is an all-around standup guy! The comedian immediately hopped in and stopped an audience memberwho yelled, “F**k Will Smith” during his comedy show at Boston’s Wilbur Theater on Thursday March 31, per People. Chris, 57, put a halt to the heckler by responding, “No, no, no, no, no…” The appearance was the Tambourine comedian’s second show since the slapping incident with Will, 53, at the Academy Awards on Sunday.
During Chris’ first show since the incident at Boston’s Wilbur Theater, he’d given the audience a heads up that he wouldn’t be addressing the incident with Will on Wednesday. A few audience members chanted for Chris to “sue him,” but the comic brushed off the crowd’s chants on the incident. “I don’t have a bunch of s**t about what happened,” he said. “I had like a whole show I wrote before this weekend. I’m still kinda processing what happened. So at some point, I’ll talk about that s**t. So I’m gonna tell some jokes It’s nice to be out.”
After the gig, the Everybody Hates Chris star seemed like he was in good spirits, smiling at fans from his car, as he got a lift away from the venue. Since the award show on Sunday, Will has also offered an apology to Chris, and the Academy announced that it would be launching a formal review into the incident. “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris,” he said. “I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
Since the Oscars incident, more information has come out about that evening. The Academy released a statement, revealing that Will had been asked to leave after he rushed the stage and slapped Chris. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star also reportedly apologized further to the Academy during a meeting, where the organization gave him a chance to speak about the evening. He’d also been warned of possible consequences for his actions during the meeting, which took place over Zoom.