Chris Rock getting slapped by Will Smith is all anyone can talk about, but it's not the
first time the comedian's jokes have got him into trouble.
Did he really go there at the 2016 Oscars?
And who called him the "most unpleasant celebrity" they had ever met?
Here's a look at Rock's shady side.
In 2018, a clip resurfaced from a 2011 HBO special, "Talking Funny," featuring Louis
C.K., Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Ricky Gervais.
In the viral clip, Louis C.K.
uses the N-word multiple times.
The conversation then shifts to comedians using the N-word on stage, as Louis C.K.
admits to using it in both his comedy sets and personal life.
Chris Rock seems to laugh it all off, while Seinfeld is adamant about not using the word
at all.
"You found the humor of it.”
“Yeah.”
“I haven't found it.”
“Right.”
“Nor do I seek it."
When the clip went viral in 2018, people were stunned to see Rock laugh off Louis C.K.
using the N-word in front of him multiple times and not pushing back against white comedians
using it.
Some felt that this was a missed opportunity for Rock to educate others about the usage
of the word and its implications.
Comedian Wayne Brady expressed his thoughts to TMZ, saying,
"Louis C.K. shouldn't have been saying it, Chris Rock shouldn't have signed off on it."
Rock never publicly responded to the backlash.
When Chris Rock hosted the Oscars in 2016, he stepped into the line of fire.
At the time, the Oscars were facing intense backlash for their lack of diversity in nominations
and in the voting committee.
The comedian didn't shy away from the conversation during his opening monologue, but it wasn't
until later in the ceremony that he caused controversy.
Rock brought out three Asian children on stage and introduced them to the crowd as the "most
dedicated, accurate, and hard-working representatives" in Oscars accounting.
The audience laughed in response to the joke, but Rock knew not everyone would find it funny.
He ended the skit by saying,
"If anybody's upset about that joke, just tweet about it on your phone that was also
made by these kids."
The response from the Asian community was swift, with many demanding an apology.
Actor Constance Wu tweeted,
"To parade little kids on stage with no speaking lines merely to be the butt of a racist joke
is reductive and gross.
Antithesis of progress."
More than 25 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members sent a letter to the
Academy demanding an explanation for the culturally insensitive remarks.
Rock himself did not comment on the backlash, but the Academy did release a public apology.
In 2019, Chris Rock shared a popular meme of Whitney Houston on Instagram that said,
"Me sitting in a meeting that could've been an email," with the caption, "Hurry up I got
crack to smoke."
People in the comments didn't find the humor in Rock poking fun at Houston's past drug
use and described it as "tasteless."
One person in particular, didn't find it funny at all — Houston's ex-husband, Bobby Brown.
He commented under the post multiple times, writing,
"During this time of women empowerment you chose to use your time to try and humiliate
our QUEEN!!!
[...] I thought you was a friend of the family."
Rock didn't address the negative comments from fans or Bobby Brown, but it's safe to
say he knew he was in the wrong, because he later deleted the post.
"Tamborine" is Chris Rock's sixth stand-up comedy special and his first special with
Netflix.
In the special, he gets candid about his divorce from Malaak Compton after 16 years of marriage
and about how it's mostly his fault.
"Dude, I was not, like, a good husband.
I was f---ed up, you know."
He described some of the mistakes he made in his marriage, like letting his ego get
the best of him.
The title of the special is derived from a comparison he makes on stage between marriage
and being in a band.
Rock explained,
"Sometimes you sing lead, and sometimes you're on tambourine.
And if you're on tambourine, play it right.
[…] 'Cause nobody wants to see a mad tambourine player."
Rock went further into detail about the mistakes he made in his marriage by admitting to cheating
on his wife multiple times while on tour and developing a porn addiction.
With all these revelations, it's no surprise that the couple divorced.
In 2017, an audience at the Comedy Cellar let Chris Rock know exactly how they felt
about his new material.
According to Page Six, Rock took to the stage and joked that he won't hire women anymore
because they like to, quote, "cry rape" for money.
He even name-dropped Harvey Weinstein, saying, "Weinstein ­f---ed with me by trying to have
me star in the worst movies of all time."
Rock reportedly bombed so terribly that no one in the audience laughed during his set.
Instead, he was met with a chorus of boos, and was called "a sexist pig" by an audience
member.
Comedian Jeff Ross was on stage after him and made note of Rock's disastrous performance
by joking, "Now that we got that Chris Rock kid out of the way..."
In 2015, former basketball star Lamar Odom made headlines after his near-fatal overdose
at a Nevada brothel left him in a coma.
Odom and his wife at the time, Khloé Kardashian, called off their divorce as he slowly recovered.
When news of his condition spread, he was met with an outpouring of prayers and support.
However, Chris Rock had a different approach.
He posted a meme on his Twitter that read, "Here's to Lamar Odom on being the first guy
in history to have coke and hookers save his marriage," and captioned it, "Stay strong
Lamar."
The meme making light of a scary time for Odom left some to view the post as insensitive
and shameful.
It's a comedian's job to find the humor in things, but considering Odom had just gotten
out of a coma and was still hospitalized, some people found it a bit too soon to joke
about the matter.
In 2017, when ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith made light of Odom's addiction, Odom
tweeted out a statement from his representative stating that his disease should never be used
"as the butt of a joke."
With a career in Hollywood as long as Chris Rock's, it's not a surprise that he's made
some enemies along the way.
No one has been as outspoken about their dislike for Rock as UK TV host Richard Madeley has.
He first made mention of his dislike for the comedian after GQ magazine asked him about
"the most unpleasant celebrity" he had to interview.
After Will Smith made Oscars history by slapping Chris Rock on stage, Madeley let his feelings
be known again.
On "Good Morning Britain," he told his co-host that he does not support Smith's actions,
but he still doesn't like Chris Rock.
"He was the most unpleasant, rude, aggressive, unlikable human being I've ever interviewed
on camera."
Rock's attitude was allegedly so terrible that they had to edit around it.
Madeley added,
"In my book, he's the most unpleasant celebrity I've ever had the misfortune to meet... but
I wouldn't have punched him."
Chris Rock's 2009 documentary "Good Hair" explored the relationship between Black women
and their hair.
It features interviews with celebrities, hair stylists, and women around the world.
Rock stated that the inspiration behind this documentary was his daughter, telling MTV,
"One day, I was in the car with my daughter and her little girlfriend, who happened to
be white, and she was raving about her girlfriend's hair, and she used the words 'good hair' to
describe it, and it kind of made me jump a little bit."
Though the film tackled real issues, it still had a humorous tone, leaving some Black women
unhappy.
Some felt that he set them up to be laughed at in front of the whole world — especially
by other races.
Rock brushed off those criticisms on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
"You're trying to call us out."
"No!"
"Yes you are!"
The 2009 film began trending after Rock poked fun at Jada Pinkett Smith's hair at the Oscars
in 2022.
Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia, was seemingly upset when Rock made a "G.I.
Jane" reference to her shaved head.
Twitter users drew the comparison between the film and Rock's joke.
Hair stylist Elgin Charles, who appeared in "Good Hair," tweeted,
"HAIR is a VERY sensitive subject for many women of color; Black women in particular.
Chris Rock knows this better than most b/c he produced a documentary called #GoodHair..."
Another user tweeted,
"It's ironic how Chris Rock made a whole documentary about Black women called 'Good Hair' but then
gets smacked for making fun of a Black woman's hair."
Chris Rock poking fun at the Smiths during the Oscars didn't start in 2022.
While hosting the Oscars in 2016, Rock used his monologue to poke fun at the couple for
calling for a boycott of the Oscars because of the lack of diversity among nominees, including
Will getting snubbed for his performance in the film "Concussion."
Rock's monologue included the jabs,
"Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties — I wasn't invited."
and
"It's not fair that Will was this good and didn't get nominated.
It's also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for 'Wild Wild West.'"
The jokes seemed to be in good fun, with the Smiths seemingly brushing it all off.
However, nothing could prepare us for what would unfold between the two during the 2022
Oscars.
As Rock took the stage to present the Oscar for best documentary feature, his opening
jokes included the Smiths.
It started off as lighthearted before he mentioned "G.I.
Jane" in reference to Jada's shaved head.
As the audience laughed, Will stormed the stage and smacked Rock.
Audiences in the theater and at home first thought it was a planned stunt before an upset
Will Smith could be heard screaming "Keep my wife's name out your f---ing mouth!"
at Chris Rock.
Rock looked startled, but he kept the show moving.
Later on in the ceremony, Smith won best actor, emotionally apologized to the Academy, and
talked about being "a fierce defender of his family," like his character Richard Williams.
His acceptance speech didn't mention Rock, but Smith later apologized to him on Instagram.
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