Chris Rock Responds to Will Smith’s Oscar Slap at Standup Show

What’s on Chris Rock’s mind?

It’s a simple yet valid question, one that the world is wondering after Will Smith slapped the comedian on live television during the Oscars on Sunday. The now-infamous blow has been the topic du jour on every corner of the internet and television in the 48 hours since — but Rock has remained noticeably silent. That is until Wednesday evening, when Rock addressed the topic publicly at a standup show in Boston.

“Whoa, okay!” he exclaimed upon entering the stage in an all-white suit. The standing ovation from the crowd thundered on before Rock made another effort to get the ball rolling for the evening: “Yo, let me do the show!”

After a few more moments of applause, Rock immediately addressed the elephant in the room.

“How was your weekend?” he began, drawing a wave of laughter. “I don’t have a bunch of shit about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend. I’m still kind of processing what happened. So, at some point I’ll talk about that shit. And it will be serious and funny.”

An audience member then chanted “Fuck Will Smith!” before Rock continued.

“I’m going to tell some jokes. It’s nice to just be out,” he said before beginning his material.

There were at least a dozen local broadcast journalist set up outside the theater as early as two hours before showtime, bundled up in the thirty degree New England weather.

“This is insane,” one onlooker shouted as he walked by troves of cameras and on-air reporters around 6 p.m.

Prior to showtime, local religious leaders gathered outside the Wilbur Theatre to make a statement about “the incident regarding our brothers” and “send a message that violence is not the way to resolve conflict.”

“This is a teachable moment so we end the cycle of violence that is underreported in the Black community,” said Kevin C. Peterson, founder of the New Democracy Coalition, a non-partisan and non-profit organization that focuses on civic engagement, to a small crowd of reporters.

Event organizers at the Wilbur were not pleased with the masses that gathered outside.

“We have to get ready for a show,” said one Wilbur employee as he attempted to put up ropes outside the venue. “We’re trying to work now.”

Boston resident Sam Wisnia, 24, felt it was “serendipitous” that Rock was scheduled to make his first public appearance only a short distance from his hometown. He got tickets on Monday morning following the Oscars and acted early enough that he only paid $70.

“I didn’t watch [the Oscars] live but I watched the clip plenty of times,” Wisnia said. “I hope he leads [his set] with the whole situation and he can find the humor in it.”

Another Boston local Jesse Setaro, 32, saw an Instagram ad for Rock’s show “after he got smacked.” He paid $225 and considers that a steal compared to what others paid.

Setaro was unfazed by the frenzy of reporters outside the theater: “Why wouldn’t they be here? it’s a historic night.”

Rock’s taciturnity is perhaps the reason that ticket sales for Rock’s stand-up comedy tour have been nearly…