Joe Rogan, 54, has slammed Will Smith for setting a ‘terrible precedent’ after the actor slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars.
The podcasting giant worried that ‘dump people’ will now start attacking comedians.
“It sets a terrible precedent in so many different ways. It sets a terrible precedent for comedy clubs. Like, are people going to decide to go on stage and smack a comedian now,” he said on his podcast.
Rogan was also shocked by the Academy’s decision to let Smith go back on stage and accept his award.
“It’s a rare instance that someone so enormously famous and successful like Will Smith that they literally still allowed him to not just win the Academy Award, but also go up and accept it and give a speech after he assaulted a small comedian on stage,” he said on Tuesday.
His guest, MMA fighter Josh Barnett, agreed and said: “They should have ejected him.”
“One hundred percent,” Rogan said. “You can’t just go smack a man in the face in front of the world and go about business as usual.”
Smith slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. The actor stormed the Dolby Theater stage and slapped him, yelling “keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth!”
“What is it saying as a society that the people that we look up to – for whatever reason, for good or for bad, we look up to actors – and the Academy Awards are supposed to be them in their most regal outfits, their best behavior. And to drop down to violence for something so innocuous as a GI Jane joke.”
The podcaster is not the only celebrity to denounce Smith for slapping Rock.
Jim Carrey, 60m also said that he was “sickened by the standing ovation” after Smith received his award.
Speaking on CBS Morning News, Carrey said: “I felt like Hollywood is just spineless en masse. It really felt like this is a clear indication that we’re not the cool club anymore.”
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