Nobody saw it coming, including comedian Chris Rock. If you don’t know what we’re talking about then you must have been hibernating for the past week.
He was on the receiving end of a Will Smith slap during Sunday night’s Academy Awards. Yes, we are talking about the same Will Smith who won the Oscar for Best Actor.
The bigger question is what does any of this have to do with New Jersey?
Well, Rock is performing in Atlantic City this weekend. His 10 p.m. show at the Borgata Event Center is sold out. There were still a limited number of tickets for the 7 p.m. show as of Thursday morning.
The appearances are part of Rock’s “Ego Death World Tour 2022.”
Chris Rock and Will Smith at the Oscars
Chris Rock cracking jokes on stage is well, routine. It’s what a comedian does to get laughs.
At this year’s Academy Awards, he presented the Best Documentary Feature award.
However, before announcing the winner, Rock made a joke regarding Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia. Will Smith reacted by storming the stage with a global television audience watching. And the Hollywood community is in no way supporting his actions.
And this incident unfolded nearly an hour before Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor. While nobody saw the slap coming, Smith winning an Oscar was expected.
He won for his portrayal of Richard Williams – father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams – in “King Richard.”
Heading into the event, both DraftKings and Caesars sportsbooks had Smith as a big favorite.
Laughing with Chris Rock at Borgata
From a Hollywood perspective, it doesn’t look like this Smith vs. Rock drama will be dying down anytime soon. The Associated Press is even reporting how Smith was asked to leave the Oscars following Sunday night’s incident.
Expect the aftermath to continue unfolding in the weeks and months ahead.
Here in New Jersey, the talk will be about Rock appearing at the Borgata Event Center Saturday night. Judging by the fact that both shows are nearly sold out, the Borgata will be hopping and the audience will be laughing come this weekend.
And this time around he will not have to worry about audience members storming the stage over a joke.