Chris Rock performed alongside fellow comedian Dave Chappelle on May 5 at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, and the comedian joked about being slapped by Will Smith during the Academy Awards ceremony.
The show came two days after Chappelle was attacked by 23-year-old Isaiah Lee at the Netflix Is A Joke Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Lee assaulted Chappelle on stage, and the attacker was later discovered to be carrying a knife shaped like a gun in his backpack.
Smith slapped Rock during his performance at the 94th Academy Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles. Smith stormed the stage and slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, having a shaved head.
Both Chappelle and Rock took the stage to make light of their recent performances. The “The Closer” star later mentioned a conversation he had with his attacker and stated that he believed Lee was mentally ill.
Rock went in on Smith after Chappelle joked about Rock being smacked by someone famous. “At least you got smacked by someone of renown!” Chappelle joked. “I was hit by a homeless man with leaves in his hair.”
“I was smacked by the softest n—a who ever rapped,” Rock retorted. After Chappelle’s attack at the Hollywood Bowl, the comedian also joked about the Oscar slap. “Was that Will Smith?” Rock inquired.
Chappelle stated that after the attack, he felt relieved when he saw Jamie Foxx wearing a sheriff’s hat. The comedian went on to say that Lee told him he attacked Chappelle to draw attention to his grandmother being evicted from her Brooklyn neighbourhood due to gentrification.
The performance took place in the club’s 70-seat Belly Room in front of an audience that included rappers Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def and Sean “Diddy” Combs.