Comedian Chris Rock reportedly made a joke referencing the infamous “slap heard around the world” following Dave Chappelle being attacked while performing at the Hollywood Bowl. During Chappelle’s set, which was being performed as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival, a man attempted to tackle Chappelle before being dragged backstage. In response to the incident, Chris Rock joined Dave Chappelle on stage and joked, “Was that Will Smith?"

Rock’s response was shared on social media by author Julissa Arce, and has since been corroborated by other accounts. The attack on Dave Chappelle, footage of which has been shared to social media by several audience members, resulted in the man and the comedian tussling on stage before the attacker fled behind a screen. Members of security rushed to detain the man, with footage shared online appearing to show him later being loaded into an ambulance. The LAPD were called to respond to the assault and the man has now been taken into custody after being found to be armed with both a knife and a fake gun.

Academy Award-winning actor and comedian Jamie Foxx was also on hand to lighten the mood following the assault, with the Spider-Man: No Way Home star admitting that he at first thought it was “part of the show.” He then took the opportunity to praise Dave Chappelle saying, “Listen, I just want to say, this man is an absolute genius. We’ve got to make sure we protect him at all times. For every comedian who comes out here, this means everything. You’re a genius. You’re a legend, I enjoyed myself thoroughly, and we’re not going to let nothing happen to you.”

Chris Rock Was Slapped by Will Smith While on Stage at the 93rd Academy Awards

Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock at the Oscars
ABC

Unless you have been in a coma or living on a deserted island for the past few months, Chris Rock’s joke is of course a reference to the now-infamous moment between himself and actor Will Smith during the 93rd Academy Awards. After making a joke about Will Smith’s wife, actress Jada Pinkett-Smith, Will Smith calmly walked on stage and slapped Chris Rock across the face before returning to his seat and yelling at the comedian and host.

Shortly after the incident, Rock said he needed some time to process what had happened. “I don’t have a bunch of sh*t about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend,” he said. “I’m still kind of processing what happened. So, at some point I’ll talk about that sh*t. And it will be serious and funny.”

More recently, Rock has managed to poke fun at the assault, saying earlier this month, "I'm OK, I have a whole show [about other topics] and I'm not talking about that until I get paid. Life is good. I got my hearing back."

Will Smith has since resigned from the Academy and has been banned from attending any events for ten years. The actor, who won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard about 20 minutes after hitting Chris Rock, has also since apologized for his actions. Several projects set to feature the actor have also since been shelved.