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Chris Rock spends Oscars night at quiet viewing party alongside Whitney Cummings a year after scandalous slap incident

Chris Rock was reportedly spotted at the Vanity Fair and Xeomin viewing party at The Four Seasons Hotel in Surfside, Miami

MIAMI, FLORIDA: Chris Rock shunned Hollywood on Oscars night Sunday, March 12, to attend a quiet viewing party in Miami — one year after being notoriously slapped by Will Smith at the awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The comedian, 58, was reportedly spotted at the Vanity Fair and Xeomin viewing party at The Four Seasons Hotel in the Surfside area.

Rock donned casual attire for the viewing party thousands of miles away from the star-studded evening in Hollywood, wearing a plain white sweater, black pants, black cap, and sunglasses. The veteran performer was greeted at the exclusive event by fellow comedian Whitney Cummings, 40, who welcomed Rock with a warm hug.

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Oscars night appearance

Rock was beaming all night while Cummings hosted the party.

Smith, 54, sent shockwaves across the globe last March when he walked onstage and slapped Rock during the 94th Academy Awards in Hollywood, moments after the latter cracked a joke about the actor's wife Jada Pinkett Smith, 51. The scandalous incident was heavily denounced by the Hollywood community and Smith was barred from attending the Academy's events for 10 years. The actor, as part of his punishment, was also forced to give up the honor of presenting the Best Actor award at this year's ceremony, after taking home the accolade last year for 'King Richard' — which he infamously accepted after assaulting Rock.

That infamous slap

The award for 'Best Actor in a Leading Role' was presented instead by fellow Oscar winners Jessica Chastain, 45, and Halle Berry, 56, who honored Brendan Fraser, 54, for his work in 'The Whale'. However, the slap dominated the jokes cracked at this year's ceremony. "If any of you get mad at a joke and decide you want to get jiggy with it - it's not going to be easy," host Jimmy Kimmel quipped, referencing lines from one of Smith's hit songs.

The talk show host quipped that anyone thinking of taking him on would have to get past a bevy of superheroes present in the audience, including Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield), the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal), and 'the Fabel...man' (Steven Spielberg). "There will be no nonsense tonight. We have no time for shenanigans," Kimmel said, adding, "If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute-long speech."

The TV comedian hurled another zinger later in the evening. "The next movie is a documentary feature, which is where we had that little skirmish last year," he quipped. "Hopefully this time, it goes off without a hitch. Or at least without Hitch," he added, referencing one of Smith's films. At one point in the awards ceremony, Kimmel cracked, "This point in the show kind of makes you miss the slapping a little, right?"

'Selective Outrage'

Rock certainly did not mince his words while rehashing the incident in his new Netflix special 'Selective Outrage' — even bringing up Pinkett-Smith's admitted affair with her son Jaden's close friend, musician August Alsina, in 2020. The comedian shocked audiences when he said that Smith's anger was misdirected, considering "his wife was f***ing her son's friend."

"Anybody that says words hurt has never been punched in the face," Rock said during his Saturday night special. "But I'm not a victim, baby. You'll never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying." He further quipped, "Everybody called him a b***h, and who's he hitting? Me. You all know what happened to me, getting smacked by Suge Smith. It still hurts. I got 'Summertime' ringing in my ears." The veteran entertainer also explained why he didn't hit the actor back, saying, "You know what my parents taught me? Don't fight in front of white people."