Chris Rock REFUSES address Will Smith controversy during surprise set – Daily Mail

Chris Rock has once again refused to address the controversy surrounding Will Smith slapping him during The Oscars telecast last week.

The 57-year-old veteran comedian gave fans the thrill of a lifetime as he dropped in for a surprise stand-up set at New York City‘s iconic Comedy Cellar on Tuesday night.

However, he made sure audience members knew right away he wouldn’t be addressing the now notorious moment with the 53-year-old A-list actor despite the warm welcome.

A source told Page Six that as soon as Chris got on stage he got on the microphone and said: ‘Lower your expectations, I’m not going to address that s***.’

The star began his Ego Death comedy tour last week and many dates sold out after the slapping incident.

The source also revealed that Chris joked about the new interest in his stand-up performances and that he was workshopping material because ‘all of a sudden people cared about his early shows.’ 

The talented comedian has refused to go into any detail about the Academy Awards incident for the most part but did stop fans from cursing out Will during his comedy show in Boston on Thursday night.

‘F**k Will Smith!’ a fan shouted, likely in an attempt to show support for Chris days after Will slapped him onstage during Hollywood’s biggest night.

‘No, no, no, no, no…’ the comedian replied, according to People, putting an end to the verbal attacks. 

The night before, during his first public appearance since the Oscars slap, Rock was also met with ‘Will Smith’ chants from the audience, however he did not quiet the hecklers.

The comedian did briefly address the slap during the show, noting that he still needs time to ‘process’ the assault.

He also told the crowd: ‘I haven’t talked to anyone, despite what you heard,’ referencing rumors that Rock and Smith had made amends.

The comic took to the stage at the Wilbur Theatre on Wednesday and asked: ‘How was your weekend?’ 

The rhetorical question got a big laugh from the crowd, which occasionally heckled the Emmy-winning comedian about Will Smith’s on-screen strike. But Rock warned those at the sold-out venue that the show would go on as planned.

‘I don’t have like a bunch of s*** to say about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I had like a whole show I wrote before… this weekend…’ he said to more laughs. ‘And I’m still kind of processing what happened.

‘So at some time I’ll talk about that s***… and it’ll be serious. It’ll be funny,’ he said before an audience member shouted, ‘F*** Will!’

‘I’m gonna tell some jokes,’ Rock concluded, later revealing that he hasn’t spoken to ‘anyone’ since the incident, alluding to reports that he and Smith have reconciled. 

 Meanwhile his 42-year-old younger brother Kenny said The Academy should strip him of his Oscar a week-and-a-half after the now notorious slapping altercation. 

Chris’ sibling told the Los Angeles Times that he has had trouble repeatedly watching the now infamous moment involving his brother from last week’s Oscars ceremony and that he should be stripped of the Best Actor trophy.

He said: ‘It eats at me watching it over and over again because you’ve seen a loved one being attacked and there’s nothing you can do about it.

‘Every time I’m watching the videos, it’s like a rendition that just keeps going over and over in my head.’ 

Kenny continued to express his distaste for the A-list actor’s actions.

He said: ‘My brother was no threat to him and you just had no respect for him at that moment.

‘You just belittled him in front of millions of people that watch the show.’ 

On Friday, Will resigned from The Academy calling his actions during the ceremony ‘shocking, painful and inexcusable,’ adding that he would accept any additional consequences issued by the Academy’s Board of Governors.

‘The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,’ Smith said. ‘I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken.’

Chris’ brother Kenny was asked if he accepts Will’s apology and says he doesn’t especially considering that it took so long to get it out of the I Am Legend star.

He explained: ‘I might have looked at it differently had he initially apologized when he got on the stage and cried and accepted the award, but he didn’t, so, right there that tells me that it is something else.’

Kenny also expressed his frustration over The Academy not being more proactive to remove Will from the scene of the incident as he said: ‘He should have been escorted out of there.

‘I hold them accountable for that. He could have went up there and did anything you wanted to my brother. It could have been much worse than what he did.’

Kenny pulled no punches as he also said: ‘In my opinion, he embarrassed himself by doing that and his legacy by doing that.’

This comes a week after Kenny and Chris’ brother Tony claimed Diddy was lying when he alleged Will had buried the hatchet with his sibling after that shocking Oscars slap.  

Hours after the controversy, which saw Will smack Chris on stage after the comedian cracked a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, Diddy told Page Six the feud was ‘over’.   

But Tony, 47, insisted that wasn’t the case while holding a Q&A with fans over Twitter on Tuesday. 

‘So Diddy was lying when he said Chris and Will made up that night and are good now?’ one fan asked. ‘Yep,’ Tony replied.

Speaking with Page Six at the Vanity Fair Oscar party, Diddy said of the incident: ‘That’s not a problem. That’s over. I can confirm that.’

‘It’s all love. They’re brothers,’ the rapper said.  

During his Q&A, Tony answered several questions from fans about the controversy that had been dominating headlines as of late.

Tony revealed he did not approve of Will’s apology to his brother and claimed those involved were ‘fine’.

‘Do you approve of the apology?’ one fan asked. ‘No,’ Tony replied.

‘All of them are fine,’ Tony told one fan who asked how Chris was doing.

He also seemed taken aback by two fans who asked if the slap was fake.

‘That s*t was real? It felt like some stagged sh*t to me. If it was real, it was definitely foul and uncalled for,’ wrote the Twitter user.

‘Staged for?’ Tony replied.

When one fan asked him what he was ‘going to do to Will’, Tony replied, ‘Respond.’

Tony also expressed his appreciation after a fan showed their support for his brother.

‘I’m a huge fan of Chris Rock and I am definitely hoping for the absolute best outcome! He did not deserve that!’ the fan posted.

‘Thanks,’ Tony replied.

Will sent shockwaves around the world when he slapped Chris after the comedian made a bald head joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who has spoken about losing her hair due to alopecia.

Just 40 minutes later, Will won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Richard Williams – father of tennis legends Serena and Venus – in the biopic King Richard.

Will issued a public apology to Chris on Monday evening – saying that his behavior was ‘unacceptable and inexcusable’.

The star wrote in an Instagram post that he was ’embarrassed’ by his actions, which shocked the ceremony attendees, producers and viewers, and sparked a furious debate that divided both A-listers and spectators alike.

‘Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,’ he wrote.

‘My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.

‘I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.’

Will then went on to say sorry to the organizers and the producers of the show.

Chris has not responded to Will’s apology and the comedian has yet to publicly comment on the incident – however it was revealed in the hours after the slap that he had chosen not to file a police report against the actor.