Chris Rock Sidesteps Oscar Controversy In First Standup Show Since Will Smith Slap

deadline.com:

In the Oscar travesty last weekend, Chris Rock felt the sting of a slap on global TV, Will Smith watched his stellar reputation marred by a lack of self control, and the Academy Awards suffered the shame of doing nothing about it and now catching up with the threat of banishment.

But tonight proved there was at least one winner: ticket scalpers, who landed upwards of $1000 for balcony seats. A lot of them seemed to be bought and paid for by journalistic outlets, and the joke was on many of us: security locked down our phones, and pulled us out for scribbling in notebooks or texting from an Apple watch.

Where was this crew when Will Smith declined the Academy’s request he leave the premises after assaulting Rock minutes before being awarded the Best Actor Oscar?Rock tonight gave his first standup comedy performance since the Oscars, and this time, he ducked.

As in, he declined to use the embarrassing episode for comic fodder. Dressed all in white, Rock did make sure to bask in a very long standing ovation — around two and one-half minutes by my count, and longer than the one that Smith received when his name was called in the Best Actor category.