Chris Rock Gets Last Laugh and Then Some on Will Smith in Aftermath of ‘The Slap’ – Opinion

We’re two days out from what some have dubbed as “The Slap” from the 2022 Oscars ceremony and people are still talking about the moment actor Will Smith took to the stage as comedian/host Chris Rock was telling a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair, and proceeded to plant a hard slap on Rock’s face.

The two exchanged words in the immediate aftermath, with Smith telling Rock twice to “keep my wife’s name out your f**kin’ mouth!”

Smith has been roundly condemned by pretty much everyone over what happened with some, like my RedState colleague Bonchie, pointing to his actions as a sign that the “Men in Black” actor has become broken and emasculated over the last several years “by a spouse that has thoroughly abused him via the ridiculous, paradoxical arrangement of an ‘open marriage.’”

But while Smith has formally apologized to Rock and presumably will go into hiding for a short time until the incident blows over, Rock himself appears to be sitting pretty, as ticket prices – and sales – for his comedy tour have reportedly soared since the slap heard ’round the world:

However, the dramatic moment did seem to inspire some viewers to buy tickets to see Rock perform live; one secondary ticketing marketplace, TickPick, reports that they have sold more tickets to the comedian’s tour overnight than they did in the past month combined. The ticket prices for Sunday’s show have risen from $46 per ticket in March to $341 on Sunday, according to TickPick.

TickPick shared this information on Twitter and also posted their entry in the Chris Rock/Will Smith meme battles.

Overnight, we sold more tickets for Chris Rock than in any month.

— TickPick (@TickPick) March 28, 2022

pic.twitter.com/XNvoiPAaAW

— TickPick (@TickPick) March 28, 2022

On top of Rock being the beneficiary of skyrocketing ticket sales and prices in the aftermath of Smith’s slap is the strong likelihood that it will be Smith being the butt of jokes coming from their fellow comedians in the coming weeks more so than Rock, especially considering how Rock handled himself pretty well after the shocking moment happened.

For those who missed what went down, watch the full uncensored segment below – language warning applies:

Australia broadcast the whole Will Smith moment without any censorship: pic.twitter.com/qG8WL7DEub

— casey briggs (@CaseyBriggs) March 28, 2022

I still find it interesting that Smith appeared to be laughing at Rock’s “G.I. Jane” joke, and then a couple of seconds later he was on the stage slapping him.