Dave Chappelle’s ‘The Dreamer’ Reflects On That Slap Heard ‘Round The World – Deadline

Dave Chappelle calls it “one of the craziest things I have ever seen.”

He is talking, of course, about the infamous Will Smith/Chris Rock Oscars confrontation.

Like many, Chappelle wasn’t sure what he was watching. He thought it was “fake,” and he “waited 30, 40 minutes” before calling Rock to find out what really happened.

“I called him on FaceTime, and he picked up,” Chappelle shared. “Soon as he picked up, he said, ‘Yous the only n***a I’d answer the phone for.’ Apparently, Obama and Oprah, everybody called this n***a to see if everything’s all right.”

“And I thought it was fake. I didn’t know,” he continued. “So I asked. I go, ‘Well, you know.’ He said, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Did it hurt?’ He said, ‘Yes, n***a, it hurt.’ And then I knew it was real. And then, and only then, was I offended.”

Chappelle was offended how “Will just sat down and enjoyed the rest of his evening. It was crazy. What the f**k is this?”

He related the incident to his own on-stage attack at the Hollywood Bowl that same year, when he was tackled by an audience member who ran onstage during his performance.

“For a homeless guy, this n***a had incredible seats,” Chappelle quipped. “Jamie Foxx was the first motherf**r that jumped out of the crowd. He was wearing a white cowboy hat like he knew this s**t was going to happen to me.”

He continued, “Every celebrity just ran out because every celebrity saw themselves in me, and they just started beating the f**k out of that kid. And I know Chris was backstage looking like, ‘Nobody helped me.’”

Chappelle then described what would have happened had Smith attacked him. “I do now know what Will Smith would not have done, and that is enjoy the rest of his evening.”