Yahoo News Chris Rock ticket sales soar after Will Smith slap: How to get stand up tickets
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Ticket sales for Chris Rock’s stand-up comedy tour have soared by more than 25 times following the comedian getting slapped in the face by Will Smith at Sunday's Oscars.
According to StubHub, the ticket exchange and resale company, the sales for Rock's tour have been substantially higher in the past 48 hours than the total sales in the entirety of March.
They added that the average price of tickets sold jumped from between £113-£151 per ticket to around £189.
Read more: LAPD not investigating Will Smith slap
"Now that we are 48 hours from Sunday evening, it’s evident that demand for Chris Rock shows has jumped dramatically, based on our ticket buying trends on StubHub,' Mike Silveira, spokesperson for StubHub said in a statement.
"At this stage in his tour, on an average day, we’d expect to see a spike in sales in the 24 or 48 hours prior to a show date as last-minute sales roll in – but it is incredibly unusual to see the spike we have experienced.
"With daily sales remarkably more than twenty-five times higher than the average we have seen in the last month, we anticipate this interest will likely sustain for a short time."
Ticket retailer TickPick also said it had “sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined”.
Rock’s Ego Death World Tour is due to start on 2 April.
During the Oscar ceremony, the comedian and actor made a joke about 53-year-old Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head, comparing her to the fictional GI Jane character played by Demi Moore who shaves her head during combat in the army.
This led to the Pinkett Smith rolling her eyes and her husband subsequently storming the stage and attacking Rock.
When he returned to his seat and shouting twice: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth.”
Later, as he collected the award for best actor for his performance in King Richard, Smith apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees, but not to Rock, joking that he “looks like the crazy father”.
Pinkett Smith, 50, suffers from alopecia, an auto-immune illness that causes hair loss.
While Rock has remained silent since the incident, the Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air star issued a public apology Monday for his "unacceptable and inexcusable" actions, while Pinkett Smith welcomed a "season for healing" in an Instagram post.
The incident has prompted shock and later criticism in Hollywood.
During his Late Late Show on American channel CBS, James Corden used a sketch to quip that Smith ;can’t take a joke;. The host added: “Seriously though, I applaud Chris Rock for recovering, keeping the show moving. It was an incredibly dignified response.
“I’ll say this, Will Smith can’t take a joke, Chris Rock can take a punch. A steel jaw. Unbelievable.”
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said no report had been filed after the incident.
Rock's tour includes four gigs in the UK kicking off at London's, The Royal Albert Hall on May 12 and ending on May 15 at Manchester Arena.
Watch: Denzel Washington "defused" the tension at the Oscars
