Comedian Chris Rock returned to a Southern California stage almost two weeks after being on the receiving end of a now-infamous slap from Will Smith during the Academy Awards.

While the incident and its repercussions still dominate headlines and social media conversations, Rock told the sold-out crowd at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio on Friday, April 8, that he was doing all right and not much else about Oscars night.

“I’m OK, I’m OK,” he said Friday when he took to the stage.

It was his first local performance since the Academy Awards ceremony March 27 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

“I’m not going to talk about that (stuff) until I get paid to do it,” he announced as he was greeted with a standing ovation.

He added, “I’ve got all my hearing back” before settling into his act.

He performed for about an hour to a full house in the casino’s 3,700-seat events center. The concert sold out a few days after the Oscars, according to Fantasy Springs.

Dressed in white, Rock paced the stage with spotlights throwing long shadows on the wall behind him. He began his act talking about COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy, followed by the nation’s political climate and winding up with marriage, dating and parenthood.

Insult comic Rick Ingraham performed a short opening act before Rock’s entrance.

To discourage recording, the concert was a phone-free event. Concertgoers were required to seal their electronic devices in a locked pouch before they entered the building.

Earlier that day, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Science disciplined Smith for the attack, banning him from attending any of its events for 10 years.

At the Oscars ceremony, Rock was on stage for to present the award for best documentary when he made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pickett Smith. The couple was sitting in the front of the house. Smith went on stage, hit Rock and then yelled at him after returning to his seat.

Not long after, Smith won the best actor Oscar for his role in the film “King Richard.”

Since the Oscars ceremony, Rock performed several shows in Boston and Atlantic City. He had only briefly mentioned the altercation on stage, saying he was “still processing what happened,” according to news reports.

Rock will perform at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas May 7-8 and July 3. He doesn’t have any other nearby shows on his calendar until he plays Harrah’s Resort Southern California in northern San Diego County on Aug. 27 and returns to the Dolby Theatre for three shows Nov. 17-19.

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