Chris Rock speaks out on Jussie Smollett at NAACP awards: 'You don't get no respect from me'

'What the hell was he thinking?' asks Rock

Chris Rock spoke out on the Jussie Smollett case on Saturday night, publicly asking the Empire actor: “What were you thinking?”

Rock took verbal jabs at Smollett during the 50th NAACP Image Awards, before presenting the Outstanding Comedy Series trophy to the ABC series Black-ish.

“They said no Jussie Smollett jokes,” Rock said from the stage.

“Yeah, I know, but what a waste of light skin. Do you know what I could do with that light skin? That curly hair, my career would be out of here. I would be running Hollywood.”

Rock added about Smollett: “What the hell was he thinking? You are known as ‘Jessie’ for now on. You don’t even get the ‘u’ anymore. That ‘u’ was for respect. You ain’t getting no respect from me.”

Smollett was nominated for the Supporting Actor in a Drama Series award, but did not attend the ceremony. He lost to Jessie Williams of Grey’s Anatomy.

It has been a tumultuous week for the Empire star after felony charges against him were dropped in Chicago.

The dismissal marked an unexpected reversal of the case that saw Smollett accused of allegedly lying to police about being the victim of a homophobic, racist attack.

Smollett, who has maintained his innocence, has, along with his team, presented the authorities' decision to drop the charges as a personal vindication. Some, such as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, spoke out against the move.

In response to Rock’s jokes, Black-ish star Yara Shahidi made her stance in the Smollett case obvious.

“I stand with Jussie,” Shahidi said before she handed the microphone to Marcus Scribner and ducked into her crowd of cast mates, including Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross.

The NAACP Image Awards saw Beyonce named entertainer of the year.

She was present to accept the award, and paid homage to the people who were nominated in the same category as her.

The singer beat out Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, actors Regina King and Chadwick Boseman, and director Ryan Coogler.

Additional reporting by agencies