‘I didn’t pay $400 to see nothing!’ Fans who shelled out on tickets for Chris Rock’s Ego Death World Tour react after he didn’t add in jokes about Will Smith attacking him at the Oscars
- Chris Rock shut down any hopes he would crack jokes about Will Smith slapping him on stage at the Oscars during his comedy show in Boston
- He said he is ‘still processing what happened’ without mentioning Smith’s name
- Some fans were left disappointed by the decision to not address controversy but others said they enjoyed the show
Fans who paid hundreds of dollars for tickets to see Chris Rock had mixed reactions about his sold-out comedy show in Boston after the comedian refrained from making jokes about being slapped on stage by Will Smith at the Oscars.
Rock, 57, quickly shut down any hopes he would crack jokes about the slap at the Wilbur Theater, as he said he is ‘still processing what happened’ without mentioning Smith by name.
Some fans said they were disappointed by the decision to not address the controversy more directly, with one telling Fox News: ‘We want our money back, I didn’t pay $400 to see nothing.’
But others said they enjoyed the show and were happy that Rock stuck to a script he wrote a week ago, before the Oscars. ‘We didn’t come just for that,’ one fan said after the show.
Some fans said they were disappointed by the decision to not address the controversy more directly, with one telling Fox News : ‘We want our money back, I didn’t pay $400 to see nothing’
But others said they enjoyed the show and were happy that Rock stuck to a script he wrote a week ago, before the Oscars. ‘We didn’t come just for that,’ one fan said after the show
Rock quickly shut down any hopes he would crack jokes about the slap heard round the world to the 3,000 fans in the audience. Rock is pictured backstage with another comedian, Mike Troy
Chris Rock, 57, quickly shut down any hopes he would crack jokes about the slap at the Wilbur Theater, as he said he is ‘still processing what happened’ without mentioning Will Smith by name. Pictured: Rock leaving the theater after his first comedy performance since Smith slapped him at the Oscars on Wednesday night
Another fan said: ‘It was fun, Chris Rock didn’t say anything about it. He had pre-written everything.’
‘I wasn’t disappointed that he didn’t talk about it, but it would’ve been cool,’ another fan said.
Others said they could see from his body language that he wasn’t sure how to address the controversy.
‘As soon as I saw him, his mood was a little bit shocked,’ said Dave Henriquez, a 48-year-old musician from Newton, Massachusetts. ‘I got that it was weighing on him.’
Erin Ryan, a 33-year-old teacher also from Newton who was with Henriquez, said she felt Rock wanted to perform his act, ‘not make the standup about the one incident.’
Kathryn West-Hines, a 50-year-old palates instructor from Malden, Massachusetts, said she came away with even more respect for Rock. ‘I thought it was amazing, classy,’ she said, adding that he wasn’t going to let ‘what happened Sunday’ take away his shine.
Other fans said they could see from his body language that he wasn’t sure how to address the controversy. Pictured: Fans outside the Wilbur theater ahead of Rock’s performance on Wednesday
Some fans said they were disappointed by the decision to not address the controversy more directly. Pictured: Will Smith slaps Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars on Sunday after he made a joke about Smith’s wife
Chris Rock is seen arriving at the Wilbur Theatre before his comedy performance on Wednesday
Dressed all in white, Rock took to the stage and asked the excited crowd: ‘Sooooo, how was your weekend?!’
With the crowd all handing over their cell phones before the show began, the former Saturday Night Live star was greeted with a long standing ovation in the first of two sets he performed Wednesday as part for his Ego Death Tour.
However, the usually-uninhibited funnyman quickly shut down any hopes he would crack jokes about the slap heard round the world to the 3,000 fans in the audience, some of whom reportedly paid nearly $1,000 for a ticket.
‘Let me be all misty and s***,’ he said, with tears in his eyes.
‘I don’t have a bunch of s*** to say about that, so if you came here for that…’ he said, and paused.
‘I had written a whole show before this weekend.
‘I’m still processing what happened, so at some point I’ll talk about that s***. It’ll be serious. It’ll be funny, but right now I’m going to tell some jokes.’
Rock seemed unfazed as he delivered his typically high-energy routine, keeping the crowd roaring and gasping as he joked about everything from overweight people at Disney parks, to his decision to get a vasectomy after seeing a 78-year-old Robert De Niro walking around with a child.
He joked about how he spends all his money on women, and wryly recommended his ex-wife’s divorce lawyer to the audience, for winning her half his fortune without her ever telling a joke.
Rock took the stage shortly after it emerged that Smith had refused to leave the Oscars after he was approached by the heads of the Academy of Motion Pictures.
Shortly after slapping Rock on stage at the Oscars, Smith was announced as the winner of the best actor award and went up to collect his statuette to a standing ovation from many of his peers.
The Academy said on Wednesday he ignored the request from the president, David Rubin, and CEO, Dawn Hudson, to leave, and that he had violated their code of conduct.
The 53-year-old actor marched onto the stage on Sunday and hit Rock, after Rock told a joke about Smith’s wife.
Shortly after, Smith was announced as the winner of the best actor award and went up to collect his statuette to a standing ovation from many of his peers.
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