Chris Rock was many things before the 2022 Oscars. He was an accomplished comedian, successful actor, and award-winning filmmaker. In fact, he’s collected awards at several major award shows, including the Grammys, The Emmys, and the Golden Globes. Despite not winning an Oscar, he did get the honor of hosting the ceremony. Unfortunately, that honor came with a sad surprise earlier this year; that’s to the slap heard around the world.
Will Smith ran up on stage and slapped Chris Rock following a tasteless joke aimed at Jada Pinkett-Smith and her bald head. In the time since, the attack seems to be all people can talk about. Rock has been touring pretty regularly since but has not been able to escape the shadow of the slap. Chris Rock is currently on tour with fellow comedian Kevin Hart. The superstar duo has been on the road together, with their most recent stop being Brooklyn’s Barclays Center last night. Days before, they did Madison Square Garden. The tour is called Only Headliners Allowed and had a strict no cellphone and no recording device policy.
Rock has spoken out about how recording devices have ruined the experience of many comedians because not only does it put their jokes online for everyone to see before the show, but it also locks them into their performance and decisions on the night of the recording. Comedians are always tweaking material and are sometimes just riffing while on stage, so it is hard for them to want to experiment if fans are recording with the intention to put the jokes online. Attempts to stop fans from recording have not been fully successful, and footage from his tour has still leaked.
Fans at the Madison Square Garden show were treated to a huge surprise when Chris Rock and Kevin Hart were joined by Dave Chappelle. The trio are some of the heavyweights in comedy, so the moment was huge for fans. Kevin Hart was also very emotional about the experience. He is the youngest of the three and has looked up to Dave and Chris for years. Over on his IG, he thanked his brothers for joining him in this experience. “Last night was by far the best moment of my career….I can’t even explain it…I can’t find the words…Just know that last night was the true definition of a “EPIC NIGHT”…..I love my brothers more than words can explain.”
To commemorate the night, Kevin Hart decided to gift Chris Rock with a goat. Fans caught the hilarious moment on stage when Kevin brought out the goat out to surprise Chris Rock. When asked by Dave Chappelle if the goat had a name, Kevin Hart declared, “Will Smith!” When the fan erupted in laughter, he responded, “What? What did I say?” The hilarious exchange continued on as the men posed for a photo and shared some improvised laughs with the audience while drinking Kevin Hart’s tequila Gran Coramino.
