On the opening night of their European stand-up tour, Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock spoke about their previous onstage assaults.

The duo launched their tour in the north of England, at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena. Rock took the stage first and included a reference to being struck by Will Smith at this year’s Oscars.

He rhetorically asked the audience, “Did that hurt?” Goddamn right… The nicest joke I’ve ever told was a bulls**t joke, and the motherf***er punched me for it.”

He continued by saying, “I returned to work the following day”, a fact that was previously not known to his fans. 

Instead of dwelling on the episode, though, he unpicked the Oscars debacle and went into reminiscing mode. “A lot of people forget who Will Smith is.” He also gave an insight into Smith’s tough upbringing in west Philadelphia and career. “Then 10 minutes before he was about to get the biggest award… he acted like he was back in Philadelphia.”

Also Read: Chris Rock declined to host Oscars 2023 after Will Smith slap

Chappelle describes how Rock, who had suddenly emerged from the audience, took over his own assault. “Will did the impression of a perfect person for 30 years, and he ripped his mask off and showed us he was as ugly as the rest of us. Whatever the consequences are… I hope he doesn’t put his mask back on again and lets his real face breathe.” Rock added: “I see myself in both men.”

Similar to a performance in London earlier this year, Rock only made passing references to the altercation, and instead focused on how culturally divided America is, the difficulties of dating in his forties, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s complaints (“I don’t get it”), mocking the trend for bleating-victim status.

These are rare reminders of how wonderful these comics can be when allowed to talk freely in this two-hander between Rock’s high-octane cultural critique and Chappelle’s polished recounting.