Chris Rock is speaking more on the Oscars slap.
Chris Rock addressed the confrontation during his recent comedy show in NYC with Kevin Hart at Madison Square Garden. Chris didn’t mention Will’s name directly, but he spoke on “cancel culture” and reportedly said, “anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face.” Later on, Chris said he’s not a victim. He said,
“Yeah, that sh*t hurt, motherf*cker. But I shook that sh*t off and went to work the next day. I don’t go to the hospital for a paper cut.”
Earlier this year at the Oscars, Will slapped Chris after Chris made a joke that he was looking forward to a sequel to “G.I. Jane,” which was ultimately a jab at Jada Pinkett-Smith’s shaved head. Jada has alopecia and didn’t take to the joke. When Will sat back down, he shouted to Chris, “keep my wife’s name out of your f*** mouth.
Shortly after the incident, Chris spoke out briefly at his comedy show and said,
“I don’t have a bunch of sh*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.” He continued, “So at some point I’ll talk about that shit. And it’ll be serious, and it’ll be funny.”
At another show, Chris made a joke and said, “I’m okay, if anybody was wondering.” Then he continued, “I got most of my hearing back.” At a different comedy show, Chris allegedly said he got slapped by the “softest n*gga that ever rapped.”
Following the altercation, Will Smith apologized to the Academy and then Chris. Will resigned from the Academy and was banned from attending the Oscars for ten years. Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said in a joint statement:
“This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith’s behavior is a step toward a large goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests and restoring trust in the Academy. We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted.”