Thursday night, your new 2016 Oscars host Chris Rock tweeted a fairly innocuous joke at the expense of Lamar Odom, who was lucky enough to make it out of the woods following his overdose at the Nevada Love Ranch, and has since reconciled with his estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian:
Stay strong Lamar. pic.twitter.com/oWeciBKR9t
— Chris Rock (@chrisrock) October 23, 2015
Probably the most eyebrow-raising thing about the tweet is that the joke and image clearly come from the website someecards, but Rock has for some reason watermarked his own copyright on it. Media outlets, however, were quick to jump on the joke as “controversial,” and although most of Rock’s followers found the humor in it, more than a few people were crying out the tried and true “too soon!”
@chrisrock Not sure if I should consider this inappropriate or hail you as a God damn genius
— Jeff Rothman 🌻🏒⚾️ (@amazingjr87) October 23, 2015
@chrisrock Chris I like u but am disappointed n u 4 this joke about Lamar. The man is still ncritical condition. Have some ❤️ Chris #notcool
— DawnG (@dawngpsalm63) October 23, 2015
@chrisrock so fucked up
— Nate in Appleton (@NateAndree) October 23, 2015
@Chrisrock this tweet truly disappointed me. Bless your heart Chris.
— m (@_madipoopoo) October 23, 2015
@chrisrock bad joke considering Lamar is still in the hospital! Think about what his family has just gone thru and still is. :(
— Jessie Berthiaume (@berthiaumejess1) October 23, 2015
https://twitter.com/grooviebabe/status/657604263707709440
@chrisrock how insensitive
— Chanti (@ChanteChanti) October 23, 2015
@chrisrock Way too soon for this.
— CV Adderley (@mschar4) October 23, 2015
https://twitter.com/mgardner_/status/657383025676673024
https://twitter.com/sorafightson/status/657386007105433600
https://twitter.com/Oswaldojf106/status/657382269011763200
To put things in perspective, the guy was found at a hooker ranch and (allegedly) covered in blow, so it’s not like he was the survivor of a brain tumor or a car accident or something else unpreventable. Being that he’s on track for a partial to full recovery, it doesn’t seem like a harmless joke is completely out of line.