The recent slap Chris Rock, an American stand-up comedian received from popular actor Will Smith might be a blessing in disguise as more people are reportedly buying Chris Rock’s tickets to see his show because of how he handled the situation.
The ticket for the comedian’s stand-up tour, titled Ego Death sold out shortly after the incident.
Investors King gathered that Smith slapped the comic actor on stage during the live broadcast of the Academy Awards over a joke the latter made about his wife, actor Jada Pinkett Smith.
On Monday, TickPick, an online marketplace for events tickets based in New York, revealed via Twitter that the company sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than they did in the past month combined.
“We sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined”, the tweet reads.
The ticket-selling company also disclosed that ticket prices have surged since Sunday night, when the awards took place, going up from a minimum of USD 46 per ticket on March 18 to a maximum of USD 341.
According to Business Standard, Rock will perform six shows at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre from March 30 through April 1 before officially kicking off his Ego Death World Tour on April 2. The actor-comic will then travel to more than 30 cities for the North American leg of his tour, which marks the first time in five years that the comic will perform new material across the country.
According to a statement by the Los Angeles Police Department, Rock declined to press charges against Smith. However, Smith has since apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees over the incident.
In an Instagram post, Smith, who got the award for Best Actor Oscar for his performance in ‘King Richard’, said he was “out of line” and personally apologized to the ceremony’s organizers, the public, and to Rock.
“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable”, Smith wrote.
Investors King gathered that Rock’s joke centered on the shaved head of Pinkett Smith, who had earlier spoken publicly about suffering from a medical condition known as alopecia.
Alopecia areata occurs when the immune system attacks hair follicles and may be brought on by severe stress. The main symptom is hair loss.
