We’ve heard very little from Chris Rock since he was slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars.
ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty ImagesHere’s what’s happened since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars: Will Smith has apologised, got himself banned from the Oscars for 10 years and Jada Pinkett-Smith declared it “a season for healing.” Meanwhile, online, it has been a season for takes as everyone, from comedians, to actors, to regular people on Twitter have unleashed a tsunami of commentary on the the slap heard around the world. (Daniel Radcliffe had the best one.)
The one thing we haven’t heard: A definitive response from Chris Rock about the whole situation. Since the Oscars he’s been mostly quiet about the incident. Turns out he has good reason.
“I’m not talking about that until I get paid,” Rock reportedly said during a comedy show in Palm Springs over the weekend. According to a report from the Desert Sun, Rock has “a whole show” planned around the incident.
And that makes complete sense, from a number of perspectives. Not least the impact Will Smith’s slap had on comedians around the country. Many, from Joe Rogan to Jim Carrey to Bill Maher have gone after Will Smith for what they see as an assault on the art of comedy itself. For Rock, consistently one of the world’s most famous and successful stand-up comedians, this incident is probably worth a lot more than a single Instagram post.
