Chappelle is in the midst of a joint comedy tour with Chris Rock, who was slammed in March during an onstage presentation at the Academy Awards by actor Will Smith.
“A lot of people forget who Will Smith is,” Chappelle said on stage at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena, according to British news channel The Telegraph. “Then 10 minutes before he was about to receive the highest award… he pretended to be back in Philadelphia.”
Smith won a Best Actor award for his role as Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, in the movie ‘King Richard’. But his win was overshadowed by his behavior that night, which was condemned by the Academy and earned Smith a 10-year suspension from Academy events.
“Will made the impression of a perfect person for 30 years, and he ripped off his mask and showed us he was just as ugly as the rest of us,” Chappelle said. “Whatever the consequences…I hope he doesn’t put his mask back on and let his real face breathe…I see myself in both men.”
A Chappelle representative confirmed The Telegraph’s coverage. DailyExpertNews has reached out to Rock and Smith representatives for comment.
Chappelle made the comments during the first of three shows as part of their UK tour. They have two consecutive dates scheduled for this weekend at the O2 arena in London, with additional dates across Europe.
Rock also reportedly addressed the blow, joking that Smith “beat me at a crap joke, the nicest joke I’ve ever told,” according to The Telegraph and The Times of London.
In July, Smith opened up about the incident in a video on Instagram, saying he was “deeply sorry”.