Six months after the world watched Will Smith slap Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards and it is still a hot topic of discussion. Both Chris and Will took some time away from the media to regroup after the incident; but the Everybody Hates Chris star didn’t stay down too long. He turned his tragedy to triumph by hitting the road and performing new stand up material.
During the Liverpool, UK leg of their current European stand-up tour, Chris and fellow comedic legend Dave Chappelle both made jokes about the Will Smith incident, calling it some “scary s***.” Rock asked the crowd, “Did that s**** hurt? Goddam right. The motherf**** hit me over a bulls***** joke, the nicest joke I ever told.”
Will Smith and Chris Rock in 2005- Mark Mainz/Getty Images
Referring to Will’s meager upbringing in West Philadelphia, Chappelle chimed in, “A lot of people forget who Will Smith is. Will did the impression of a perfect person for 30 years, and he ripped his mask off and showed us he was as ugly as the rest of us,” the Chappelle Show star said. Despite the jokes, Dave vulnerably shared that he has compassion for all parties involved, adding “Whatever the consequences are. I hope he doesn’t put his mask back on again, and lets his real face breathe. I see myself in both men.”
The comedians’ comments comes on the heels of Chris Rock receiving backlash from a joke he told about Nicole Brown Simpson‘s death last month. Nicole’s sister has since called out the comedian, saying his attempt at humor was “distasteful and offensive to the extended family.”
Share your thoughts on Chris and Dave’s recent comments.