(CNN) — Chris Rock made an emotional return to the stage on Wednesday night for the first time since Will Smith slapped him at the Academy Awards.
Rock, dressed in all white, publicly addressed the incident for the first time. He was greeted by the audience at Boston’s Wilbur Theater with two back-to-back standing ovations, lasting several minutes.
“Let me be all misty and s***,” Rock said with tears in his eyes, gesturing to the crowd’s warm response.
“How was your weekend?” he quipped, to which the audience responded with laughter.
“I don’t have a bunch of s*** 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 s***. It’ll be serious. It’ll be funny, but right now I’m going to tell some jokes.”
RELATED:Academy: Smith refused to leave Oscars, broke conduct code
The comedian, currently on his “Ego Death Tour,” then moved on with his show.
The tour has seen a boost in ticket sales since the Oscars, with Wednesday’s two shows in Boston sold out.
Rock’s performance comes as the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced ‘disciplinary proceedings’ against Smith have been initiated over his actions at Sunday’s Oscars.
The actor walked to the stage at the awards show and slapped Rock, who was presenting at the time, after he made a joke about Smith’s wife’s shaved head.
Smith issued an apology on Monday in a statement on Instagram, calling his behavior “unacceptable and inexcusable.”
“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,” Smith wrote.
In their statement Wednesday, the Academy said that Smith was asked to leave the ceremony after the altercation “and refused.” The Academy said it recognizes “we could have handled the situation differently.”
The-CNN-Wire
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