BOSTON (WHDH) - Anticipation was brewing all week as comedian Chris Rock prepared to take the stage for the first time since being slapped by actor Will Smith on national television.
Rock returned to the stage at the Wilbur Theater Wednesday to two standing ovations amid fallout from an encounter with Smith that stunned a crowd that had gathered for the Oscars, as well as viewers at home.
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“Let me be all misty and [explative],” Rock said with tears in his eyes. “How was your weekend?”
He went on to say, “I don’t have a bunch of [explative] to say about that, so if you came here for that,” he said, paused and then continued, “I had written a whole show before this weekend. I’m still processing what happened, so at some point, I’ll talk about that [explative]. It’ll be serious. It’ll be funny, but right now I’m going to tell some jokes.”
Then the comedian moved on with his show as planned.
“It was an amazing show and I guess I respect him for not saying anything,” audience member Bonnie Plitez said. “Obviously I would have loved to hear something but I respect him for not.”
The resale price for tickets to Rock’s shows have skyrocketed in the days following the incident with Smith with the cheapest ticket going for $712 on StubHub. In a tweet, ticket sales website TickPick said, “We sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined.”
“I was a little disappointed, I was hoping he would say something,” one man said. “He has his reasons for not addressing it.”
Smith issued an apology on Monday in a statement on Instagram, calling his behavior “unacceptable and inexcusable.”
“[Rock] was humble, he was funny, he was misty, he cried in beginning,” said another audience member. “I think that he was like he was at the Oscars. He was so professional with how he handled the entire situation that it didn’t matter. Chris Rock is one of the best comedians of all time so he did a fantastic job.”
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