The internet praises Chris Rock after describing how he dealt with a bully

A video of Chris Rock describing how he dealt with a bully has sparked praise online amid the aftermath of the infamous slap he received from Will Smith at the Academy Awards.

Rock hasn’t said much about the incident, in which he was slapped and berated by Will Smith for his comment about the buzzcut of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who has spoken publicly about her alopecia.

On Wednesday, however, Rock received a standing ovation at Boston’s Wilbur Theater, where he was performing as part of his “Ego Death Tour.” Rock said he’s “still sort of processing what happened” and that he’ll talk about it “eventually.”

He also got sympathy online in a Reddit thread in the MadeMeSmile community titled “Chris Rock being the better man.”

The thread includes an undated TikTok video of the comedian and actor sketching an encounter with “one of my bullies” who had been working as security on a film set.

In the clip, he described how the person known as “B” felt “kind of ashamed” when they saw each other. Rock said he gave him a “quick look” as if to say, “I hope you’re okay.”

Rock said that despite his status on the set, he didn’t ask to have him fired, noting that “his sin punished him.” He said it must have been difficult for the bully to “go through the whole day watching me… being me in all my glory”.

Reddit users praised Rock’s reaction to his former adversary in the thread. One wrote: “The impulsive and hateful seek revenge. The kind and naive accept apologies. The intelligent and successful keep going.”

Another wrote, “The best revenge is to live well,” while others pointed directly to the Oscars incident. “He took a straight hit, stood like a man and recovered like a pro. I am impressed by how well he has taken care of himself and still does,” wrote one user. Another said: “With that one slap, a legend became a fool and a comedian became a legend.”

Smith has apologized for the incident, which he described as “unacceptable and inexcusable.”

He also resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences two days after the Academy instituted disciplinary proceedings against him for violating the group’s code of conduct.

Although he is no longer a voting member of the Academy, Smith can still be invited to Academy Awards and nominated for future awards.