Howard Stern didn’t hold back when it came to his feelings on how Hollywood’s elite treated Will Smith after slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars, and he drew a noteworthy comparison between Dave Chappelle’s onstage attack at the Netflix Is A Joke comedy festival.
During a recent episode of ‘The Howard Stern Show’ the radio host fired off reasons why the two events sparked two completely different reactions and deemed the difference in treatment as hypocritical.
Howard Stern Slams The Treatment of Dave Chappelle Compared To Will Smith, Calls Out Hollywood Hypocrites
Speaking of Chappelle being attacked during his performance by a crazed audience member, Stern said, “This guy jumped up on stage and attacked Dave Chappelle. 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, they broke his arms and hands so bad”.
But Stern was not done just yet. “They f—ing beat the s— out of him,” he added.
“Unlike the Academy Awards, Jamie Foxx came running out on stage and helped Dave Chappelle. 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,” Stern continued his rant.
Stern made some valid points in his argument, noting that Will Smith got a pass for his inexplicable behavior simply because of who he is. “Listen! You don’t treat Will Smith any different than they did the Chappelle attacker,” Stern said. “The audience at the Oscars gave Will Smith a standing ovation after the attack, that’s the truth. It’s on film, it’s not fake news,” Stern explained.
“They didn’t break Will’s hands, they shook them and it’s wrong and they all should be ashamed of themselves,” he went on to say.
Stern’s assessment of the two events depicted “how f – – ked up Hollywood is” and he insisted that “some people in the audience at the Academy Awards still should be very ashamed of themselves. I hope they are,” before ending his lengthy criticism.
Will Smith sparked ample controversy during the 2022 Academy Awards when he ran on stage and slapped Chris Rock during the live televised event. Upon returning to his seat, he yelled “keep my wife’s name out your f—ing mouth!” at Rock. Not only was Smith allowed to stay for the remainder of the award show, but he was also presented with an Oscar and received a standing ovation moments later.
Smith has since been banned from attending the Academy Awards for ten years, but many feel that the consequences were given too late given his actions.
