"Don't treat Will Smith any different": Howard Stern claims Hollywood should be ashamed of themselves as he weighs in on Dave Chappelle attack

Howard Stern previously criticized Will Smith for slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. (Image via Getty Images/Will Heath/Theo Wargo)

American radio personality Howard Stern is slamming Hollywood for its hypocrisy.

During the May 4 episode of The Howard Stern Show, the 68-year-old star took some time to address the recent on-stage attack on Dave Chappelle, and how it was viewed much differently than the Will Smith-Chris Rock fiasco at the 94th Academy Awards.

During the broadcast, he said:

“This guy jumped up on stage and attacked Dave Chappelle. As soon as that happened, did they let him go back to his seat and laugh and sit next to his wife and then give them an award? No! They took him backstage, they broke his arms and hands so bad. They f*cking beat the shit out of him.”

Howard Stern continued:

"Unlike the Academy Awards, Jamie Foxx came running out on stage and helped Dave Chappelle. At the Academy Awards, everyone came over and consoled Will Smith — because it was live television and Hollywood didn’t know what to do about Will Smith.”

On the night of May 3, Dave Chappelle was attacked while performing at the Netflix Is a Joke festival at the Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl. The culprit, identified as 23-year-old Isaiah Lee, was captured going onto the stage and attacking the comedian before being punished by security.

Cellphone footage showed the guy being escorted away from the stage, before celebrities like Chris Rock and Jamie Foxx rushed to help the Half Baked actor.

Lee was arrested and charged with felony assault with a dangerous weapon. According to authorities in Los Angeles, the suspect was armed with a false pistol that included a knife blade. Chappelle escaped unharmed.

In a statement, Chappelle's representatives said:

“Dave Chappelle celebrated four nights of comedy and music, setting record-breaking sales for a comedian at the Hollywood Bowl [...] He refuses to allow last night’s incident to overshadow the magic of this historic moment. As unfortunate and unsettling as the incident was, Chappelle went on with the show.”

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Why did Howard Stern give Will Smith's example?

While talking on the show, Howard Stern called out Hollywood for being biased towards Will Smith, referencing the fiasco of the latter punching Chris Rock during the Academy Awards. He said:

“Listen! You don’t treat Will Smith any different than they did the Chappelle attacker. The audience at the Oscars gave Will Smith a standing ovation after the attack, that’s the truth. It’s on film, it’s not fake news. They didn’t break Will’s hands, they shook them and it’s wrong and they all should be ashamed of themselves.”

Smith smacked Rock and caused the major controversy after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaven head. Not knowing that Jada suffered from alopecia, Rock said:

“Jada, I love you, ‘G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it."

Smith went onto the stage shortly where he attacked Rock. He then returned to his audience seat and yelled:

“Keep my wife’s name out of your f*cking mouth.”

The event had fans and Hollywood celebrities divided. Some condemned Smith for turning to violence over what they saw as a harmless joke, while others admired that he stood up for his wife after the insensitive joke.

Stern, firmly in the first category, he had commented that Smith would not have responded in the same manner if the joke had come from a larger man, such as Dwayne Johnson or Jason Momoa.