Chris Rock is ready to move on from the Oscar mess. The slap heard around the world is now four months ago, but for many, it’s still fresh in their minds. While the award-winning comic just wrapped his second tour since the incident, several other celebrities have talked about how traumatizing the situation was.
Wanda Sykes says that the incident has scared her away from ever hosting the Oscars again. While discussing what went down on Live With Kelly and Ryan, Wanda let out a resounding “Oh hell no,” when asked if she would return to the ceremony. Sykes says the situation itself was frightening but was made even scarier when she realized that Will was allowed to stay in the venue. “It’s a huge job. It took a lot of people to clean me up,” she said about getting back on stage. “Everybody just gon sit here? He’s still here!?” she proclaimed when she saw him in the crowd.
Several sites have also reported that Will Smith’s followers have steadily gone down on social media. Some point to the fact that he has not posted since issuing his apology back in March. Meanwhile, Chris Rock has continued to thrive on the touring front, with his ticket sales jumping up after the slap. He is also growing in social media following as people keep a close eye on him, waiting for the moment he officially talks about what happened.
One of Chris Rock’s first shows following the slap was a sold-out crowd at the Wilbur Theater in Boston, Massachusetts. There, Rock explained that if the crowd came out to hear him rant about Smith, they were going to be disappointed. He said he was still processing the events and was not prepared to address them. However, last week at his set at Madison Square Garden with Kevin Hart, he did work in a jab about cancel culture, saying words don’t hurt as much as getting punched in the face. During another show at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey, he called Will Smith “Suge Smith,” a reference to Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight. Knight is known for his violent temper and outbursts.
Chris may be taking it in stride but he wants people to know that he is not a victim. He told the same crowd at the PNC Bank Arts Center, “Yeah, that [stuff] hurt. But I shook [it] off and went to work the next day … I don’t go to the hospital for a papercut.” The comedian also made it clear that he has moved on.
Will Smith is still silent on the matter. His wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, did address it briefly in an opening monologue for her show Red Table Talk, where she focused on Alopecia awareness. Will, however, has not said anything outside of the statement he released shortly after the slap. “My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable. 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. I betrayed the trust of the Academy.”
