Jim Gaffigan received swift backlash after tweeting his thoughts on the physical altercation between Chris Rock and Will Smith at the Oscars ceremony. The comedian ended up deleting the tweet, but Twitter users are still blasting Gaffigan for his comments.
Gaffigan Compares Smith To Donald Trump In Since-Deleted Tweet
After Rock told a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith while presenting an award, Smith took the stage and smacked the comedian, telling Rock to “keep my wife’s name out your f*cking mouth.”
Many comedians came to Rock’s defense, saying that Smith shouldn’t have taken the joke so seriously and that attacking him was completely uncalled for. Gaffigan joined in, tweeting, “I’m still disgusted. We don’t deserve the brilliance of @chrisrock. ‘When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything,’ – Donald Trump and Will Smith.”
His tweet referred to a comment made by former president Trump in a 2005 conversation with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush about women. Gaffigan’s tweet quickly went viral, as Twitter users slammed the comedian for comparing the two situations.
Twitter’s Reaction To The Comedian’s Tweet
“Wow. What a brave and idiotic comparision,” one person tweeted. Another wrote, “a guy getting slapped for making fun of a woman’s autoimmune disorder is not sexual violence.” Gaffigan quickly deleted the tweet and clarified his comments.
“Okay bad comparison on my part,” he tweeted. “I was trying to make a point but it doesn’t matter. FYI, i didn’t think the joke was brilliant. I said Chris Rock is brilliant. I still do and we don’t deserve his brilliance. Please continue to defend physical assault. It says so much.”
While many disagreed with Gaffigan’s comparison, there were some that agreed with the sentiment he was trying to convey. “I’m with you Jim,” one person responded. “There is no justification for assault.”
Another person wrote, “I’m truly fearful for comedy’s future if anyone in the audience is allowed to walk up and strike a performer over their perceived insolence. This sets a very dangerous precedence [sic] going forward.”
Other Comedians Come To Rock’s Defense
Gaffigan isn’t the only stand-up comedian to come out in support of Rock after the incident. Comedian Kathy Griffin, who has been the target of much backlash as well, tweeted, “Let me tell you something, it’s a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a Comedian. Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.”
Neither Smith nor Rock have made any public comments on the altercation, but it’s definitely all anyone will be talking about for the next few weeks as people discuss all sides of the situation.
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