It might be hard to believe, but we’re only a couple days shy from a month since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars. With talk around the incident settling into dull roar, and The Academy’s official punishment arriving in Smith’s decade long ban from the ceremony, we might see this matter fade into the background at last. At least, that’s until Chris Rock decides to fully address the event’s aftermath, which seems ever closer after his offhanded remarks about that infamous moment this past weekend.
Performing to a sold out crowd in Baltimore last Friday, Rock apparently opened his set with a nod to the Oscar slap. In attendance was reporter Annie Rose Ramos from WJZ, a local CBS affiliate. Sharing these remarks through her Twitter feed, Ramos noted the following brief joke Chris Rock used to poke fun at this already much discussed event:
First 30 seconds Rock walks out and says “I’m alright I’m alright…healed from the nicks and bruises…for the most part” then doesn’t mention slap for entire 1.5 hr hilarious show.
This seems to be the comedian’s standard way of acknowledging what happened, while also not taking any sort of stance or making any statement about how he felt in connection to this happening. It’s also not the first joke Chris Rock has made about when he’ll provide a deeper take. Mentioning at a previous show that “I’m not talking about that until I get paid,” Rock is mostly maintaining silence for the moment, save for some careful parting shots.
If anyone is speaking out for Chris Rock’s side of events, besides the many celebrities who have put themselves out there as Team Rock, it’s the Fargo and Madagascar star’s family. Most recently, Rock’s mother Rosalie had her say when it came to how she felt about the slap. Needless to say, Rosalie Rock’s opinion came in on the side of her son, though she explained her reasoning in deeper context when providing her take.
Closer to the more immediate aftermath of the Oscars, Kenny Rock reacted in a similar way. Saying that watching Will Smith slapping his brother “ate at him,” Kenny has also been quite vocal about what happened on that late March evening. With his family making their thoughts known quite well, the wait for Chris Rock’s own in-depth look at the moment is a little more bearable as it’s not all radio silence on his end.
Small jokes like the ones he’s been making on his current stand up tour are an indication that, at the very least, Chris Rock isn’t ignoring what’s happened. Rather, he’s just waiting until he’s got the right words to say at the right time. Given the circumstances, that’s a play that everyone should be able to get behind.
You can currently see Chris Rock on his “Ego Death” tour, which is next set to hit Las Vegas on May 6th. Meanwhile, you can check out the full schedule of upcoming movies heading to theaters in 2022.