“Was that Will Smith?”- When Chris Rock joked about Will Smith after Dave Chappelle’s on-stage attack
On May 3, 2022, during the Netflix Is a Joke comedy festival at the Hollywood Bowl, a moment like Will Smith in the Oscars occurred with comedian Dave Chappelle. He performed as part of a star-studded lineup and was attacked on stage by a man in the middle of his set. The assailant rushed Chappelle while he was performing, tackling him to the ground in front of the crowd.
While the audience initially seemed unsure whether it was part of the act, the situation quickly escalated as security swarmed the stage. The attacker, later identified as Isaiah Lee, had concealed a fake gun with a knife attached to it and was quickly subdued by the venue’s security team. The attack seemed random, as Lee had not been known to have any prior connections to Chappelle or his work.
Chappelle, though shaken, managed to recover quickly, continuing his performance with a mix of humor and disbelief. He even joked about the attack afterward, commenting that the assailant’s hair was "spongy," adding a bit of levity to the tense situation.
Notably, Chappelle was helped backstage by actor Jamie Foxx, who arrived on the scene to offer support.
When Chris Rock returned to the stage after the attack on Chappelle, the audience was still processing the chaotic scene. They were likely expecting the atmosphere to stay somber for at least a moment.
Instead, Rock lightened the mood by asking, "Was that Will Smith?"
The joke immediately drew laughter, as it referenced the infamous incident at the 2022 Academy Awards when Will Smith slapped Rock across the face after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith.
Why was Chris Rock slapped by Will Smith?
At the 2022 Oscars, Rock made a comment about Jada, joking that she could star in a sequel to G.I. Jane due to her hair, which was a result of her struggle with alopecia. The joke didn’t sit well with Smith, who, in a moment of anger, walked up on stage and slapped Rock in front of millions of viewers.
The slap was followed by Smith shouting from his seat, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f---ing mouth!”
The incident shocked the audience and dominated headlines in the following weeks. It also cast a shadow over the rest of the Oscars ceremony, with Smith later winning the Best Actor award for his role in King Richard, delivering an emotional speech that touched on his need to protect his family.
Thus, when Rock stepped back onto the stage at the Hollywood Bowl and made his "Will Smith" joke, it was a clear reference to that previous moment of public chaos. Rock’s response was one of comic relief, using the familiar tension of the Oscars incident to break the unease surrounding the Chappelle attack.
Will Smith issued a public apology on March 28, 2022, which came via an Instagram post in which Smith admitted that his actions were "unacceptable and inexcusable." He expressed regret for resorting to violence, acknowledging that violence in any form is "poisonous and destructive."
In his statement, Smith specifically apologized to Rock, stating, "I was out of line and I was wrong." He also apologized to the Academy, the show’s producers, and attendees.
Smith explained that while he was willing to accept jokes at his expense, Rock's comment about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith's hair, due to her battle with alopecia, was too much for him to bear and thus he reacted emotionally.
