Angry Chris Rock Abruptly Leaves Billionaire's Holiday Party in the Middle of His Comedy Set: 'He Went Momentarily Ape'
Chris Rock wasn't putting up with any funny business at billionaire Anthony Pratt's holiday party.
The famed comedian "stormed out" of the Pratt Industries executive chairman's gathering at the Mandarin Oriental hotel ballroom in New York City on Saturday night, December 7, in the middle of his surprise set after appearing to catch someone filming or photographing him in the crowd.
Rock, 59, shocked the audience when he stepped out on stage in a casual ensemble in between comedian Wali Collins and country star Keith Urban's sets.
"Dinner’s second course brought — surprise! — Chris Rock. No big announcement. Nobody had seen him. Nobody heard he’d be there. He’d been officially hidden," gossip columnist Cindy Adams detailed.
Rock began by talking smack about American politics in front of a crowd mostly filled with Australian elites.
"Our new push will be outer space. We'll put all the Mexicans on the rockets," the Everybody Hates Chris actor joked moments before his set took a chaotic turn due to something Rock spotted in the audience.
According to Adams, Rock went on for a "very short" amount of time until he "saw something" in the audience.
"Whatever he saw — or thought he saw — upset him," Adams, who had been in attendance at the party, recalled in an article published Sunday, December 8. "Like he went momentarily ape and shouted something like he wasn't supposed to be taped, videoed, reported or whatever else wasn't supposed to happen."
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The journalist said Rock "didn't complain, didn't explain, didn't do one more minute" before "barreling quickly, forcefully, through people to the exit doors."
"He kept b----ing loudly and, without a second's hesitation, stormed out — never to return," she revealed.
Luckily, Urban swooped in to save the day by rocking the stage for an "hour and a half" after Rock's abrupt exit.
Despite the Grown Ups star's bizarre departure, the audience didn't seem to mind — as Adams shared "everyone" was "dancing" and "all but Rock left happy."
Rock's headline-making scene at Pratt's holiday party came just one week before he is scheduled to host Saturday Night Live alongside musical guest Gracie Abrams on December 14.
This will be Rock's fourth time hosting the comedy sketch series. He was previously an SNL cast member from 1990 to 1993. The show will mark Abrams' Saturday Night Live debut.
Adams is a reporter for the New York Post, where she published her piece.