Several weeks before his passing, Gilbert Gottfried shared a social media message supporting fellow comedian Chris Rock.
Rock was the recipient of the infamous Oscars slap at the hands of Will Smith, with many individuals criticizing Smith’s actions and how the Academy Awards handled the incident.
In his message, Gottfried posed a question to his followers about the “worst crime” that occurred during the ceremony.
Gottfried supports Chris Rock in final social media message
In late March, Gilbert Gottfried shared a photo of himself alongside Chris Rock following that much-talked-about Oscars incident. During the event, Rock, a presenter at the Academy Awards, made a joke involving Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald look and referenced the movie G.I. Jane. The remark initially amused some people in the audience, including Will Smith, but his wife didn’t seem so amused.
Soon after a camera panned to Jada’s displeased look in the audience, her husband left his seat, walked up to the stage, and smacked Chris Rock before returning to his seat.
“Keep my wife’s name out your f**king mouth!” Smith shouted at Rock twice from his seat before Rock continued with his presenting duties.
Gilbert Gottfried took to Twitter and Instagram a day or so after the incident to comment about the matter. Like many other comedians, Gottfried took Rock’s side, posing the question about the worse of the two Oscars’ offenses.
“Which is the worst crime? Chris Rock being physically assaulted or Chris Rock telling a joke?” Gottfried said in his Twitter and Instagram post’s caption.
That final post, presumed to have been shared by Gottfried, racked up over 20,000 Likes on Twitter and numerous comments from fans supporting his viewpoint.
“Chris Rock can take a punch better than Will Smith can take a punchline. Rest in peace man,” one individual commented.
Another individual commented about “Gilbert’s last tweet” and said he hoped Chris appreciated how much he meant to Gottfried.
Another fan said the discussion about what jokes are acceptable or not got them thinking about Gottfried’s style of humor.
Statement arrived on social media about Gottfried’s passing
On Tuesday, news came that Gottfried had passed away at age 67. According to People, his death was due to “Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia due to Myotonic Dystrophy type II.”
His family shared a statement in tribute to the late comedian on his Instagram page.
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved Gilbert Gottfried after a long illness. In addition to being the most iconic voice in comedy, Gilbert was a wonderful husband, brother, friend and father to his two young children. Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honor,” a statement from Gottfried’s family said.
Gottfried appeared as a cast member in Saturday Night Live in the 1970s, and also popped up in various TV shows or films such as The Cosby Show, Problem Child, and Beverly Hills Cop II.
Gottfried, well known for providing the voice of Iago in 1992’s Aladdin film and the Aflac duck in commercials, is survived by his wife Dara, his 14-year-old daughter Lily, 12-year-old son Max, as well as his sister Karen and nephew Graham.