Radio personality Howard Stern criticized Hollywood for treating Oscar Award-winning actor and rapper Will Smith differently than award-winning comedian Dave Chappelle’s attacker.
“This guy jumped up on stage and attacked Dave Chappelle,” Stern said during an episode of The Howard Stern Show, which went live on May 4. “As soon as that happened, did they let him go back to his seat and laugh and sit next to his wife and then give them an award? No! They took him backstage [and] they broke his arms and hands so bad. They f*****g beat the shit out of him.”
He further expounded that the industry “didn’t know what to do” with Smith after his recent slap incident involving Emmy Award-winning comedian, actor, and filmmaker Chris Rock.
“Unlike the Academy Awards, Jamie Foxx came running out on stage and helped Dave Chappelle,” Stern continued. “At the Academy Awards, everyone came over and consoled Will Smith — because it was live television, and Hollywood didn’t know what to do about Will Smith.”
The King Richard actor walked on stage at the 2022 Oscars and slapped Rock in retaliation for a joke the 57-year-old made about his wife, actress Jada Pinkett-Smith. He made the joke about her bald head, which she reportedly shaved due to suffering from a severe condition called alopecia.
Iconic Oscar Award-winning actor Denzel Washington and award-winning director Tyler Perry then went to Smith to see if he was okay.
On the other hand, Chappelle’s attacker was beaten up by the D.C. native’s security after he rushed on stage and tackled him, with a gun-shaped weapon in hand, during his latest comedy set at Netflix, Is A Joke: The Festival in Los Angeles.
After he was pummeled, the comedian’s good friends, Oscar Award-winning actor, comedian, and singer Jamie Foxx and award-winning rapper Busta Rhymes, rushed to his aid.
The suspect was identified as a 23-year-old man named Isaiah Lee. He was taken to the hospital after being battered and bruised by Chappelle’s team.
“It was a trans man!” he shouted, causing his audience to erupt in laughter.
He also walked on stage with Chris Rock, who performed earlier in the evening, after the incident and the Brooklyn-raised comedian jokingly asked, “Was that Will Smith?”
