Chris Rock 'Never Expected To Get Slapped' Despite Being Used To Pushing Boundaries: Report
KEY POINTS
- Chris Rock is used to people reacting negatively to his "no holds barred humor" but never expected to get slapped, a report says
- The comedian reportedly "goes beyond just setting people off" at times
- Rock's humor is something that is "expected" at this point as "that is who he is," according to the report
Chris Rock is used to "setting people off" as a comedian, but getting slapped on stage over one of his jokes was likely the last thing he expected, a report says.
Viewers and audience members at last week's 94th Academy Awards were shocked when Will Smith stormed the stage and smacked Rock across the face for making a "G.I. Jane" joke over Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head.
An unnamed industry source told People that Rock handled the situation "well," possibly due to his past experiences of people reacting negatively to his "no holds barred humor."
However, the insider said they believe Rock "never expected to get slapped" when he made the joke about Pinkett Smith, who has been open about having alopecia.
Rock has gone "too far" when it comes to jokes in the past, but his previous acts had "done nothing but help his career," the source noted.
"Some people think he goes too far … Chris is a big success, but he can go over the line and upset people," the insider explained. "Generally, it hasn't hurt his career, but there have been times when he goes beyond just setting people off."
However, according to the source, Rock's humor is something that is "expected" at this point as "that is who he is."
"You hire Chris to get people's reactions, which are immediate and usually invite hysterical laughing," the source continued. "The incident has so many layers of intrigue and outrage that it should keep him on everyone's mind for a long time. It should boost his comedy appearances."
The slapping incident indeed appeared to have had a positive effect on the ticket sales for the 57-year-old's comedy tour. "We sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined," secondary ticket seller TickPick tweeted the day after the Oscars.
Since the awards ceremony, Rock performed six sold-out shows at The Wilbur ahead of his "Ego Death" world tour. The 38-date North American leg officially kicked off in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Saturday and will run through Nov. 18, concluding at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Rock declined to file a police report over the incident, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
He briefly addressed the slap during one of his shows in Boston Wednesday. The comedian said he was "still kind of processing what happened." He also told the audience that he will talk about it "at some point," and "it will be serious and funny."
For now, Rock appears to be ready to move on from talking about the incident. He recently shut down a fan who screamed, "F–k Will Smith," during one of his Boston shows.
Following intense backlash over his actions, Smith announced his resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Friday.
The Oscar winner admitted in his statement that his actions were "shocking, painful and inexcusable" and said he would accept any additional consequences that the Academy's Board of Governors deems appropriate.
The Academy accepted Smith's resignation and said it will move forward with the disciplinary proceedings against the actor for "violations of the Academy's Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18."
![Chris Rock was able to keep the glitzy gala on track after being attacked by Will Smith, and went on to present an Oscar moments later](https://d.ibtimes.com/en/full/3458471/chris-rock-was-able-keep-glitzy-gala-track-after-being-attacked-will-smith-went-present.jpg?w=736&f=e6b4894c703999e62b90f0c39b65bcaf)
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