Chris Rock says he got his “hearing back” after being slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars.
The comedian made the comment Thursday at the Royal Albert Hall in London on his “Ego Death” tour. He’s otherwise said little about the shocking show moment which stemmed from a joke presenter Rock made about Jada Pinkett Smith‘s hair.
“I’m OK, if anybody was wondering,” Rock said, according to The Independent, when he arrived on stage for his first of four shows at the venue. “I got most of my hearing back.”
While the audience was hoping for him to go into more detail about the slap seen around the globe, he only offered, “People expect me to talk about the bulls***. I’m not going to talk about it right now. I’ll get to it eventually — on Netflix.”
However, later in the show, he did comment on it once more — while talking about how easily offended people are these days.
“Anyone who says ‘words hurt’ has never been punched in the face,” said Rock, who declined to press charges against Will.
Rock has previously quipped, also on stage, that he will only discuss the incident for money. His siblings and mother have all weighed in. Last week, when Dave Chappelle was assaulted on stage by a stranger, Rock, who performed that night, asked, “Was that Will Smith?!”
As all of you know by now, Best Actor nominee Will stormed the stage at the March 27 show and clocked Rock after he made a joke saying Jada could star in a G.I. Jane sequel. It was a reference to her shaved head, but Rock was unaware she has alopecia. After the slap, Will returned to his seat and screamed obscenities at Rock across the Dolby Theatre. Making the whole thing even more bizarre, shortly after, Will won the Best Actor Oscar for King Richard and received a standing ovation.
For his part, Rock carried on with his presenting duties while clearly shaken up by the whole thing, winning praise from his peers.
Will later apologized, saying he was defending his wife, but called his actions “inexcusable.” He’s since been banned from the Oscars — and other events hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — for 10 years, and some of his projects have reportedly been postponed.
