'What the hell was he thinking?' Chris Rock slams Jussie Smollett at the 50th NAACP Image Awards and says the actor 'ain't getting no respect from me'

Chris Rock made jabs at Jussie Smollett just moments before he presented the award for the outstanding comedy series to ABC's 'black-ish' at the 50th NAACP Image Awards on Saturday.

Smollett, who lost to 'Grey's Anatomy' star Jessie Williams in the supporting actor in a drama series category, did not attend the awards.

'They said no Jussie Smollett jokes,' Rock said.

'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. What the hell was he thinking?' Rock said.

'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,' Rock added.

In response to Rock's jokes, 'black-ish' star Yara Shahidi made her stance in the Smollett controversy obvious.

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

It has been a tumultuous week for the 'Empire' star after a felony case against him was dropped in Chicago.

The handling of the case, which accused Smollett of falsely reporting to police that he was assaulted by two men in downtown Chicago on January 29, has drawn widespread condemnation.

n Friday, State's Attorney Kim Foxx, penned an explosive op-ed in which she insisted there's nothing to hide in the prosecution's decision to suddenly drop all 16 felony charges against Smollett last Tuesday.

Writing in the Chicago Tribune, Foxx insists there’s nothing to hide, dismissed the public outcry surrounding her team's methods and said only the people 'in the weeds' of the justice system would understand that 'alternative prosecution' is common practice and has happened thousands of times before.

Foxx was lambasted this week after suggesting Smollett didn’t receive special legal treatment, but instead was subjected to ‘alternative prosecution’, following negotiations between her legal team and Smollett’s defense lawyers.

Smollett, 36, was accused last month of staging a racist and homophobic attack in a believed bid to advance his on-screen career.

He was subsequently charged but the charges against him were dropped after he completed 16 hours of community service at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and forfeited $10,000.