Chris Rock Comedy Tour Ticket Sales Surge After Will Smith Slap At Oscars

Chris Rock sold more tickets for his ongoing comedy tour after the dramatic unplanned incident on the Oscars stage Sunday.

Rock will return to the stage to continue his comedy tour after Will Smith slapped him at the 94th Academy Awards for joking about the actor's wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. The controversy seemed to have helped sell Rock's comedy tour tickets.

"We sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined," Ticket marketplace TickPick wrote on Twitter.

The tweet received several responses from the netizens praising the comedian for keeping his cool after the "King Richard" actor slapped him. In the video shared by ANC 24/7, Rock didn't hit back and just said, "Oh wow, wow," while Smith walked back to his seat.

"Will Smith just smacked the [expletive] out of me," Rock added.

"I see Chris in a whole new light, he is a gentleman!" one netizen commented on the tweet about Rock's ticket sales.

"Chris Rock was the real man last night. He took it, ended it, and moved forward. Kudos to him! Will Smith, on the other hand, was out of control and if it was anyone else, they would have been escorted out of the building," another added.

"Chris Rock's reaction to the slap was classy and really cool. Will Smith acted like a thug and do you expect anything else from him, violent and shameless. Chris should sue him," a third user wrote.

While several criticized Smith, Nicki Minaj defended the actor. According to the rapper, she loved Chris, and she believed the comedian would not have made the joke had he known Jada's condition. For those who criticized the "Gemini Man" star, Minaj reminded them that Smith reacted that way because he saw his wife's pain.

"This is what any & every real man feels in that instant. While y'all seeing the joke, he's seeing her pain," she wrote.

Rock will perform six shows at Boston's Wilbur Theatre from March 30 through April 1 before kicking off his "Ego Death World Tour" on April 2. The tickets for his shows in Boston already sold out. But there are still tickets available on resale sites like Vivid Seats, Ticketmaster and Stubhub, Variety reported.

Rock will also travel to over 30 cities for the North American leg of his tour. It's the first time in five years that he will perform new materials across the country. At present, the comedian has 38 dates scheduled for the tour. He will visit multiple major cities, including Las Vegas, Denver, Oakland, Seattle, New York, Chicago and Toronto.

After Boston, the "Spiral" actor will head to Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City for two shows before wrapping up at Los Angeles's Dolby Theatre on Nov. 17.

Meanwhile, Smith already issued a public apology to Rock on Instagram Monday.

"I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line, and I was wrong," Smith wrote. "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."