Photo: Peabody Awards / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Chris Rock is an American comedian and actor, one of the most acclaimed stand-ups of his generation, known for Everybody Hates Chris and his razor-sharp specials. At the 2022 Academy Awards, his joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head prompted Will Smith to slap him live onstage — a moment watched around the world.
Rock's name resurfaced in October 2026 when Val Chmerkovskiy's deleted "Fresh Prince" post about judge Carrie Ann Inaba was read as echoing that night.