D.L. Hughley, Other Comedians Defend Chris Rock After Netflix Special Receives Mixed Reactions

Comedians rallied to support Chris Rock after he addressed the slapping incident involving Will Smith a year ago in his Netflix special.

Rock ridiculed the Smiths during his Netflix stand-up performance. He joked about Jada Pinkett Smith's "entanglements" with August Alsina and called her "b--ch" multiple times. While many found it funny, several were not impressed, with some saying Rock has been obsessed with Pinkett Smith for decades.

Comedian D.L. Hughley sided with Rock amid the issue and aired his support for the "Spiral" actor on Instagram. He even congratulated Rock for doing the show.

"Brilliantly executed," he wrote. "If you love comedy, if you are a student of the art, if you are one of the few remaining people that allow for creative expression, then you walked away from this with the same sentiment."

"Side note... That happened to HIM, to CHRIS... and the ENTIRE WORLD got to weigh in and talk trash and make jokes and 'shoulda, woulda, coulda' the whole damn thing to death," he continued.

Hughley added that the incident was an opener for most comedians. He also reminded the public that the only person who didn't speak about it was Rock, himself. So, he slammed those who seemingly criticized Rock for talking about the incident that happened a year ago on his show.

"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," he added.

Fellow comedian Jeff Ross replied, "Amen brother." Dondre Whitfield echoed the same sentiment and called those slamming Rock "hypocrites," Fox News Digital reported.

"All those people who say that are hypocrites. Because of the shoe were on the slapped face they'd STILL be talking about. And probably would've been seeking compensation as well. All those people need to shut up," he commented.

"Saturday Night Live" alum Leslie Jone also voiced her support for Rock. "Y'all forget he got slapped in front of the world yo! His kids, his mama, peers EVERYONE!" Jones commented after another wrote, "You got to let stuff go at some point."

"I wonder how y'all muthaf----s would handle that! And he is A COMEDIAN this is his way of expressing it. If he sang, he would write a song. Cause it's a painful thing that happens. Y'all act like you would be righteous! YOU ARE HYPOCRITES! Shut the f--- up and go sit down," Jones added.

Comedian Patton Oswalt also tweeted about Rock's performance and praised him for it.

"So happy having @chrisrock in the world, for so many reasons. Maybe one of the best being as a constant high bar to shoot for in terms of writing, thought & performance. Wow. #SelectiveOutrage," he wrote.

Several comedians have already aired their support for Rock following his performance. Arsenio Hall told Entertainment Tonight it was "like the Super Bowl of comedy." "Blackish" star Deon Cole said it was "a little bit like a heavyweight fight."

"I think everyone always has pretty big respect for him in the comedy world and knows he's one of the comedy greats," actor David Spade added.