Chris Rock to Perform Sold Out Comedy Show Days After Will Smith Slap

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Comedian Chris Rock is scheduled to perform a sold-out show in Boston on Wednesday night, his first public appearance since he was slapped by Will Smith on stage during Sunday's Academy Awards show.

Rock's Wednesday shows at The Wilbur Theater are listed as sold out on a number of ticket marketplaces, including TicketMaster and the theater's website. On Wednesday, Rock is set to perform two shows with the first beginning at 7 p.m. ET and the second beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Rock is also scheduled to appear at the Wilbur Theater on March 31 and April 1, with two shows nightly. Those shows are also sold out.

Michael Silveira, a spokesperson for StubHub, previously told Newsweek, "now that we are 48 hours from Sunday evening, it's evident that demand for Chris Rock shows has jumped dramatically, based on our ticket-buying trends on StubHub."

StubHub data provided to Newsweek showed that the ticket re-sale website sold more tickets to the Rock's comedy shows in the past two days than the total number of sales in the month of March.

Rock's appearance Wednesday night comes as ticket sales for his comedy shows have continued to increase after he was slapped by Smith on stage at the 94th Academy Awards following a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Pinkett Smith suffers from the medical condition alopecia, which causes hair loss and during the award show, Rock joked about her shaved head, saying "Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it."

Actress Demi Moore stars in the movie G.I. Jane as a character with a shaved head.

Shortly after making the joke, Smith walked on stage and slapped Rock, which caught the nation and the world by storm. Smith also yelled, "Keep my wife's name out your f****** mouth!" from the crowd after slapping Rock.

Smith has since apologized for the slap, writing in an Instagram post that "Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive...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."

Following the slap, Newsweek reported that ticket sales for Rock's upcoming comedy shows had increased. Ticket marketplace TickPick tweeted on Monday that it had sold more tickets for Rock's comedy shows in one night than it did in the past month.

Newsweek also previously reported that prices for the show at The Wilbur Theater increased in price on the ticket resale website StubHub, increasing from around $338 to $450 in the span of a few hours on StubHub on Monday.

While prices have increased for Rock's shows due to demand, a spokesperson for the comedian told Newsweek that the shows at The Wilbur Theater have been sold out since the first day they went on sale.

Chris Rock
Comedian Chris Rock is set to perform in front of a sold-out crowd on Wednesday night, just days after he was slapped by Will Smith on stage at the Oscars award show on Sunday. Above,... Robyn Beck/Getty

About the writer

Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In January 2023, Matthew traveled to Moscow, Idaho where he reported on the quadruple murders and arrest of Bryan Kohberger. Matthew joined Newsweek in 2019 after graduating from Syracuse University. He also received his master's degree from St. John's University in 2021. You can get in touch with Matthew by emailing m.impelli@newsweek.com. Languages: English.


Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more