There’s no such thing as bad publicity.
Ticket sales for the 57-year-old comedian Chris Rock’s upcoming comedy tour are reportedly surging after he was slapped on stage by Will Smith during Sunday’s Oscars telecast.
Secondary ticket seller TickPick tweeted Monday that they saw an increase in sales to see Rock perform following the incident, which aired live during the awards show. Rock is scheduled to perform at Boston’s Wilbur Theater Wednesday through Friday before his Ego Death World Tour begins Saturday.
“We sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined,” TickPick revealed on Twitter.
“Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see ya,” Rock said, referring to Jada’s shaved head and the similar hairstyle Demi Moore’s character sports in the film.
Jada has been open about her struggles with hair loss and alopecia, and debuted her shaved hairstyle in July 2021. After hearing Rock’s joke, Jada rolled her eyes and Will initially laughed. Then, the actor hopped out of his seat to join Rock onstage, where he struck the comic across the face.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a statement Monday afternoon condemning Will’s actions at the awards show, and announced the launch of a “formal review around the incident.”
The Academy referenced their Standards of Conduct, stating, “Members should act in a manner consistent with the good reputation of the Academy,” and noted that unacceptable conduct includes “physical contact that is uninvited and, in the situation, inappropriate and unwelcome.”
If a member has violated the standards, “the Academy may take any disciplinary action permitted by the Academy’s Bylaws, up to and including suspension of membership or expulsion from membership,” they stated.
