Chris Rock addressed Will Smith’s Oscar’s slap publicly for the first time Friday at the Lyric Performance Arts Center in Baltimore.
The sold-out show was packed with fans, as Chris Rock launched into his first few comments about the moment that Will Smith walked onto the stage and slapped him during the Oscars March 27, according to Black Enterprise.
“I’m alright. I’m alright. Healed from the nicks and bruises … for the most part,” he said, according to the outlet. Rock wasn’t willing to elaborate any further about the incident, but this light comment was the first time he had highlighted the incident in front of his audience, according to Black Enterprise.
The 94th Annual Academy Awards were host to the shocking moment in which Smith stormed the stage and slapped Rock’s face, reportedly in response to a joke Rock made about Will Smith’s wife. It is believed the joke compared her bald head with the G.I. Jane movie. He was reportedly unaware that Jada Pinkett Smith suffered from a condition called alopecia, according to People. (RELATED: REPORT: Chris Rock’s Ticket Sales Surged After ‘Slapgate’)
Rock said he wouldn’t speak publicly about the slap, “Until I get paid,” according to Insider.
However, his mother, Rosalie Rock, has already shared her view on the matter, calling out Smith for his behavior, according to NBC News.
“When he slapped Chris, he slapped all of us,” she said, according to the outlet. “He really slapped me.”