After Candace McDuffie claims that the 'Grown Ups' star saw it coming because he's often joked about black women, the former 'The Jay Leno Show' correspondent finds the narrative 'ironic.'
- Mar 13, 2023
AceShowbiz - D.L. Hughley has come to Chris Rock's defense after author Candace McDuffie said Chris deserved to be slapped by Will Smith. Weighing on the controversial 2022 Oscars moment, the writer claimed that the comedian saw it coming because he has often joked about black women.
Slamming Candace for her comments, D.L. said in a video for TMZ, "It's kind of crazy to me that... if you thought the slap was justified and you think that his comedy was too far, I think it's ironic." He went on defending Chris' jokes about the slap in his Netflix special "Chris Rock: Selective Outrage". "I don't think you should ever have the right to tell somebody how or when or what's appropriate for their response," he said.
Candace said Chris deserved the slap during an interview with CNN's Don Lemon. "It's not so much about being slapped as it's about accountability, right. He has made black women specifically the butt of his jokes for years and he's finally being held accountable," she said, blaming Chris.
She added, "So I feel this kind of sets the precedent going forward that people will be more careful about how they treat black women." When Don warned her that people might think she condones violence, she responded, "It's not about condoning violence, but words, especially ones that make black women the punchline, should have consequences."
The Root's writer went on claiming, "Honestly, sitting here, you know, calling Jada out of her name, making fun of her hair condition, talking about her alopecia, words can be violent as well. And as we see black girls and women, we suffer abuse at higher rates in this country, so continuing to humiliate us only perpetuates this."
She also spoke about Chris' Netflix special, saying, "What we saw on that stage wasn't comedy. It was really pain. He hasn't healed from what happened." She added that "instead of trying to deal with those emotions and his feelings," Chris was "just taking it out" on African-American women.
D.L. previously showed his support for Chris following his Netflix special. "I'm going to give my brother, his flowers and his respect, @chrisrock YOU DID THE DAMN THING, MOST IMPORTANTLY… YOU STAYED TRUE TO YOURSELF!! as far as everyone else that seems to have an opinion on whether or not he should've mentioned what happened to HIM, you don't get to decide when, why or how someone else deals with THEIR trauma," he wrote on Instagram after the show's live premiere.
"The ONE PERSON YOU NEVER HEARD FROM ABOUT IT WAS CHRIS!!" he continued writing. "So NOW, that HE decides to address it on HIS TIME, people have the audacity to say: 'he's bitter… Why is he still talking about that... let it go... or the best one WE'VE MOVED ON'. So YOU got to speak on it but he can't??? Y'all are a straight f*n trip."
