Comedians Condemned Will Smith For The 'Violence' Of Hitting Chris Rock Over A Bad Joke
"He could have killed him."
Many comedians make a living by crossing lines with their jokes, so when Chris Rock crossed the line and Will Smith slapped him for it at the Oscars, the comedy world was pretty horrified by the result.
Some of the biggest comedians in Hollywood have come out to condemn Smith's actions on Sunday, after he took issue with Rock's joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
"Jada, I love ya!" Chris Rock said during the show, before taking a dig at her hair loss. "G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it."
"The Academy does not condone violence in any form," The Academy wrote in a tweet afterward.
Still, many comedians were concerned to see that no one stepped in to protect Rock from a physical attack, just because Smith couldn't take a joke.
Judd Apatow was one of those who blasted Will Smith in a now-deleted tweet, saying: "He could have killed him."
"That's pure out-of-control rage and violence. They've heard a million jokes about them in the last three decades. They are not freshman in the world of Hollywood and comedy. He lost his mind," continued the tweet, per ABC News.
Another well-known comedian, Kathy Griffin, also weighed in on the situation and expressed her fear that Will Smith's actions may lead to more violence against comedians.
"Let me tell you something, it's a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a Comedian," wrote Griffin. "Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters."
Many people agree with Griffin and even suggest that this act might give people like Kanye West, who has a very public beef with Pete Davidson, some bad ideas.
Comedy writer Jena Friedman also ripped into Smith for seeming to justify his actions in his Oscar acceptance speech a short time later.
"Love will make you do crazy things," Smith said in the speech.
Friedman quoted that bit and attributed it to both "Will Smith, and most people in prison for murder."
"Stand up for the women in your life by not normalizing violence," she added in another tweet.
Many comedy talk show hosts also couldn't believe how Smith treated a fellow comedian.
Late-night host and comedy writer Conan O'Brien also hinted that he felt a bit more afraid of telling jokes on live TV after seeing what happened to Rock.
"Just saw the Will Smith slap," he wrote. "Anyone have a late-night show I can borrow just for tomorrow?"
The Daily Show host Trevor Noah also echoed what people were thinking when he acknowledged that the moment wasn't scripted.
Rock reportedly declined to file a police report after the incident, meaning Smith likely will not face charges for the slap.