It seems that Will Smith and Chris Rock’s slap gate has led to a surge in the sale of tickets for Chris’ comedy shows. The Oscars 2022 presenter is currently on a comedy tour in the US. As reported by Variety, ticketing marketplace, TickPick, revealed that the shows have sold more tickets overnight than they did in the past. “We sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined,” TickPick tweeted.
They also claimed that the prices for the shows have witnessed a spike. While the minimum rate per ticket was $46 per ticket (approx Rs 3,500) as of March 18, the cost of a ticket now costs a minimum of $341 (approx Rs 25,000).
Chris is yet to publicly react to the altercation. However, a TMZ report claimed that the comedian was ‘stunned’ after the slap. Soon after he had presented the award for the Oscar Award for Best Documentary Feature, which was presented to Summer of Soul, Chris reportedly made his way to the dressing room and left the building soon after. The grapevine added that Chris, even before Will slapped him, had no plans of staying until the end of the ceremony.
The report also claimed that Will and Chris haven’t spoken since the incident and that the comedian wasn’t aware of Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, which caused the actress’s hair loss. During the Oscars 2022 ceremony, before presenting the award, Chris poked fun at Jada’s look by saying, “GI Joe 2, can’t wait to see it.” The joke did not go down well with the Smiths. “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***king mouth,” Will screamed after he slapped Chris. “Wow dude, it was a GI Jane joke,” Rock defended himself.
Meanwhile, Will issued a public apology, apologising to Chris, The Academy and his King Richard team. “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. I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us,” he wrote.
