Chris Rock backstage during the 94th Annual Academy Awards. Photo / AP
Chris Rock backstage during the 94th Annual Academy Awards. Photo / AP
Chris Rock made a cheeky reference to the infamous Will Smith Oscars slap at his latest stand-up show.
The comedian, who was on the receiving end of Smith's violent assault onstage during the Oscars ceremony, had just opened his show in Fantasy Springs, California, when he said, "I'm OK, I have a whole show and I'm not talking about that until I get paid."
"Life is good, I got my hearing back," Rock added, an apparent dig at being smacked in the face by Smith, reported the Desert Sun.
Rock has been reticent to address the March 26 drama, having kept himself to small references, mostly promising that he will speak about his experience at a later time.
In his first appearance after the incident, at a show in Boston, he said he was "still processing" what had happened to him.
Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Annual Academy Awards. Photo / Getty Images
Rock's comments come on the heels of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handing down a 10-year ban against Smith after its board of governors convened to review the events of the ceremony.
Smith will be barred from attending any Academy events, including the Oscars, for 10 years. The ban does not preclude him from being nominated for or winning an Oscar.
Smith had already resigned his membership from the organisation a week earlier, pre-empting any Academy disciplinary measure that might have included expulsion from the invitation-only organisation.
Smith's resignation from the Academy means he can no longer participate in voting for the Oscars.
In a letter to its members, Academy president David Rubin and chief executive Dawn Hudson called Smith's behaviour "unacceptable and harmful".
It was also a mea culpa for the Academy's handling of the televised assault.
Rubin and Hudson added: "During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the room, and we fell short – unprepared for the unprecedented."
In the aftermath of the slap, Smith was not removed from the room and was permitted to give a long acceptance speech when he won the Oscar for Best Actor less than an hour later.
Contradictory reports have emerged including an earlier Academy statement which said the organisation asked Smith to leave and the actor refused, and another from the ceremony producer Will Packer who said he told Smith the eventual Oscar winner could stay.
Smith accepted his Oscar to a standing ovation, giving a speech that appeared self-justifying and then spent the night celebrating at the Vanity Fair after-party.
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith attend the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones. Photo / Getty Images
The next day, after the Academy announced it would conduct a formal review into Smith's actions, the box office drawcard issued a lengthy apology on social media, specifically saying sorry to Rock.
Smith wrote: "Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behaviour at last night's Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable."
He added, "Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about my Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.
"I would like to publicly apologise 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."
Rock's joke was directed at Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith's wife, and referenced her bald appearance. Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, an auto-immune illness which causes hair loss. A source told TMZ that Rock was not aware of Pinkett Smith's condition.
Chris Rock backstage during the 94th Annual Academy Awards. Photo / AP
Rock has so far declined to press charges against Smith but the Los Angeles Police Department has said if the comedian changed his mind at a later time, the LAPD would take that statement.
