Chris Rock is apparently ready to joke about the slap that actor Will Smith laid on him at the Oscars earlier this year.
“Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face,” Chris said during a set at Madison Square Garden in New York City for his Only Headliners Allowed tour with Kevin Hart, ET reported. The comment was reportedly made during a segment on cancel culture.
During the Academy Awards ceremony, Will walked onstage and slapped Chris across the face for joking about the shaved head of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
In a sketch about people being overly sensitive, Chris reportedly said: “That shit hurt, motherfucker,” but “I’m not a victim.”
“I shook that shit off and went to work the next day,” he said, per Us Weekly.
The comic also received a live goat from Kevin Hart ― a gift acknowledging his Greatest Of All Time respect for the comedy icon. The goat’s name? Will Smith.
In the immediate aftermath of his onstage assault at the Oscars, Chris told attendees at a show in Boston that that he didn’t “have a bunch of shit to say about that” and was “still processing what happened.” He also said he would joke about it when he was ready.
Chris mentioned the incident briefly in May, after controversial comedian Dave Chappelle was tackled onstage by an attendee during a show in Los Angeles.
“Was that Will Smith?” Chris cracked following the incident.
Dave Chappelle gave a surprise opening set during Saturday’s show in New York, and also joked about his own onstage attack.