Chris Rock Tears Into Jussie Smollett At NAACP Image Awards

Jussie Smollett might not be facing charges anymore but he’s still being scrutinized in the court of public opinion. He might maintain his innocence, but that hasn’t been enough to convince the rest of the world. The actor was nominated for an NAACP Image Award but ultimately lost to Jesse Williams. He didn’t attend the award show either but that didn’t stop Chris Rock from tearing into him.

Jussie Smollett’s work on Empire earned him a nomination for best supporting actor in a drama series. He reportedly flew out to L.A. for the award show but bailed last minute, TMZ reports. Chris Rock was told not to crack any jokes about Jussie Smollett but clearly, he didn’t listen. 

“They said no Jussie Smollett jokes. Yeah, I know,  I know. What a waste of light skin. You know what I could do with that light skin? That curly hair? My career would be outta here! I’d be f*cking running Hollywood,” he said. “What the hell was he thinking? From now on … you’re ‘Jessie’ from now on, you don’t get the ‘u’ no more. That ‘u’ was respect, you ain’t getting no respect from me.”

The crowd broke into laughter but Trevor Noah seemed to find the joke more funny than most people. However, Jussie did get support from Yara Shahidi who said that she stands with the actor during her acceptance speech.