Chris Rock joined fellow comedian Dave Chappelle during his performance at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles on May 5, and the comedian joked about being slapped by Will Smith during the Academy Awards ceremony.
The show was two days following the Netflix Is A Joke Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, where Chappelle was attacked by 23-year-old Isaiah Lee. Lee tackled Chappelle while he was on stage, and the attacker was later found to have a knife shaped like a gun in his backpack.
Rock was slapped by Smith as he performed during the 94th Academy Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles. Smith walked on stage and slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head.
Both Chappelle and Rock took the stage to joke about their recent experiences while performing. “The Closer” star noted a conversation he had with his attacker afterward and said he believed Lee to be mentally ill.
After Chappelle joked about Rock being smacked by someone famous, Rock went in on Smith. “At least you got smacked by someone of repute!” joked Chappelle. “I got smacked by a homeless guy with leaves in his hair.”
“I got smacked by the softest n—a that ever rapped,” retorted Rock. The comedian also joked about the Oscar slap after Chappelle’s attack at the Hollywood Bowl. Rock asked, “Was that Will Smith?”
Chappelle noted that after the attack, he relaxed after witnessing Jamie Foxx wearing a sheriff’s hat. The comedian added that Lee told him he attacked Chappelle because he wanted to bring attention to his grandmother being kicked out of her Brooklyn neighborhood due to gentrification.
The show was held in the club’s 70-seat Belly Room in front of an audience including rapper Yasiin Bey fka Mos Def and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
