Comedian Chris Rock only briefly addressed the Oscar night slap to the sold out crowd in Boston, saying he was “still kind of processing what happened.”
“Other than the weird thing, life is pretty good,” Rock said midway through his first of two sets.
The nighttime performances came just three days after Smith smacked the comedian for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, while presenting an Academy Award.
Rock didn’t mention Smith or Pinkett Smith by name at his show in Boston.
Wearing all white, he seemed to be almost embarrassed by the multiple ovations he received.
He received several standing ovations before he told one joke Wednesday at his first comedy show since Will Smith slapped him in the face onstage at the Oscars.
As the applause carried on for minutes — with fans yelling “I love you, Chris!” — the comedian appeared to be getting emotional, a guest seated near the stage told The Associated Press.
“How was your weekend?” Rock joked before getting into his set.
Ticket prices skyrocketed after Smith took to the awards stage and slapped Rock on live TV, but the comedian made clear he wasn’t going to talk at length about it Wednesday.
“If you came to hear that, I’m not … I had like a whole show I wrote before this weekend,” Rock said.
He spent much of the night skewering celebrities and politicians. Among them were the Duchess of Sussex, the Kardashians, as well as President Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and former President Donald Trump.
Outside the venue, a fan showed off a T-shirt featuring the “G.I. Jane” logo and Pinkett Smith’s face. Another had a shirt he made that showed Smith’s face and displayed a crude joke about the couple’s relationship.
At least one person yelled during the show that Rock should sue Smith.
Rock’s joke at the Oscars was about Jada Pinkett Smith’s buzzed haircut: “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” Rock said, comparing Pinkett Smith to Demi Moore’s “G.I. Jane” character, who had a buzz cut in the 1997 film.
Smith promptly stood up from his seat at the front of the venue and took to the stage, slapping Rock across the face before sitting back down and yelling at Rock to keep his wife’s name out of his mouth.
Pinkett Smith had spoken publicly about her diagnosis of alopecia, which can cause baldness.
Within an hour, Smith won best actor, receiving a standing ovation. During his five-minute acceptance speech, Smith talked about defending his family and apologised to the academy.
A day later, Smith issued an apology to the comedian, to the academy and to viewers at home, saying he was “out of line” and that his actions are “not indicative of the man I want to be.”
Pinkett Smith responded Tuesday with a graphic on Instagram that read: “This is a season of healing and I’m here for it.” She offered no further comment.
