Chris Rock Comedy Tour Ticket Sales Surge Following Will Smith Attack

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 27: In this handout photo provided by A.M.P.A.S., Chris Rock
Al Seib /A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images
Alana Mastrangelo

Comedian Chris Rock’s comedy tour saw a surge in ticket sales after actor Will Smith slapped him across the face at the Academy Awards on Sunday night after Rock told a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

“We sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past three months combined,” the online marketplace for ticked events TickPick revealed in a tweet on Monday morning.

The surge in ticket sales have also caused ticket prices to rise since Sunday night, going up from a minimum of $46 per ticket on March 18 to a minimum of $341, according to a report by Variety.

The skyrocketing ticket sales for Chris Rock’s comedy tour appear to have been inspired by Will Smith shocking Oscars audience members and viewers on Sunday night, when he got out of his seat to attack the comedian for making a joke about his wife.

“Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see ya,” Rock said while on stage at the Oscars — an apparent joe about Pinkett Smith’s hair loss, which she revealed is due to her having alopecia.

Will Smith, however, did not appear to take the joke lightly, as the actor marched onto the stage, where he smacked Rock across the face. Then, when the actor retook his seat in the audience, he twice shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out your fucking mouth.”

***LANGUAGE WARNING***:

Later, Smith addressed his cringeworthy outburst during his acceptance speech for Best Actor, in which he apologized to the Academy Awards and all of his “fellow nominees,” but refrained from mentioning Rock in his apology.

Rock is scheduled to perform six shows at Wilbur Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, from March 30 through April 1. The comedian will then kick off his Ego Death World Tour on April 2. Rock will also ne visiting more than 30 cities for the North American leg of his tour.

The comedian currently has 38 dates scheduled for the tour, traveling to cities like Las Vegas, Denver, Seattle, New York, Chicago, and Toronto. Rock will wrap up his comedy tour on November 18 in Hollywood, California.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.