Chris Rock has returned to stand up for the first time since being slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars.
The comedian walked out to his first gig, in Boston on Thursday, to a rapturous standing ovation that lasted around two minutes.
As he attempted to get a word in, the comedian said, “You got me all misty and s***.”
Once the crowd had finally settled, he asked, “How was your weekend?” triggering more hysterics from the Boston audience.
“I don’t have a bunch of s*** about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend, and I’m still kind of processing what happened,” Rock said.
“So at some point I’ll talk about that s***. And it’ll be serious, and it’ll be funny.
“I’m going to tell some jokes. It’s nice to just be out.”
He added later on in the set: “Except for some other pretty weird things, life is pretty good right now,” to even more applause.
At the end of his hour-long show Rock received another boisterous standing ovation.
Demand for Chris Rock’s Ego Death World Tour, have surged in the wake of the Oscars with fans reportedly spending as much as $2000 on a pair of tickets.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the Oscars, said it had begun a process against Smith which could lead to the best actor winner’s expulsion from the group.
During Sunday’s live broadcast, Smith slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair, before returning to his seat and shouting, “keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth”.
Just 15 minutes later, Smith won an Oscar for best actor.
“Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated,” the Academy said in a statement.
“While we would like to clarify that Mr Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently.”
Smith, known for his role in the sitcom, the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, apologised to Rock, the academy and viewers in a statement on Monday, saying he was “out of line” and “reacted emotionally.”
Rock had referred to the 1997 film G.I. Jane in which actress Demi Moore shaved her head. It was unclear whether Rock was aware that Pinkett Smith has alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss.
