Fellow comedians continue to rally around Chris Rock after he was slapped by Will Smith at last weekend’s Academy Awards in one of the most shocking moments in Oscars history.
Among the many are Dana Carvey and David Spade, who opened the latest episode of their podcast, “Fly on the Wall,” by saying how the attack reminded them of being bullied as children.
“I was triggered, ‘cause everyone talks about triggers, when I saw a very large person go full s--- house physical on a person who’s not small, but much smaller,” Carvey said. “And that just viscerally hit me, so I saw a bully. I was just taken back to my childhood.”
“Where was security? Could anyone else have gotten away with that?” he added.
Spade also said the incident was a dark moment for their craft.
“I could jokingly say that slap in the face was a real slap in the face for comedy,” he said. “On a serious note, this is a dangerous precedent. That was the straw that broke Will Smith’s back.”
Spade also disagreed with Smith returning to the stage to accept the best actor award.
“I honestly just don’t think he should have been able to go get his award,” he said. “I hate to say it, but there’s got to be some consequence because you shouldn’t be allowed to do that.”
The altercation has also started a dialogue among comedians who fear it may open the floodgates for people to do what Smith did.
“It sets a terrible precedent for comedy clubs,” Joe Rogan said earlier this week on his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.” "Are people going to decide they’re going to go on stage and smack the comedian now?”
Oscars co-host Wanda Sykes was also angered by what happened.
“I just felt so awful for my friend, Chris. It was sickening,” she said on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in an interview that will air next week. “I physically felt ill and I’m still a little traumatized by it.”
Her fellow co-host Amy Schumer wrote in an Instagram post that she was “still triggered and traumatized” by what happened.
Smith walked on stage during the Academy Awards and slapped Rock after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Smith then returned to his seat and yelled at Rock to keep his wife's name out of his “f---- mouth.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors, which condemned Smith’s actions, says it has begun disciplinary proceedings against the “King Richard” star. The academy also says Smith was asked to leave the ceremony, but he “refused.”
Smith, who apologized for the incident while accepting his Oscar without mentioning Rock’s name, apologized to the comedian earlier this week.
Rock, who did not a file police report, returned to the stage Wednesday night, performing two shows in Boston.
“How was your weekend?” he said, drawing laughs from the crowd. “I don’t have a bunch of s--- about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend. I’m still kind of processing what happened. So, at some point I’ll talk about that s---. And it will be serious and funny.”