Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock have both spoken about their recent assaults on stage on the first night of their European stand-up tour.

The pair began their joint tour at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena in the north of England, where Rock took to the stage first and, in one part of his routine, spoke about being hit by Will Smith at this year’s Oscars.

“Did that s**t hurt?” he asked the audience. “Goddam right… the motherf***er hit me over a bulls**t joke, the nicest joke I ever told.”

He moved on to say that he’d been back at work the following day, something he hadn’t mentioned before. And he added that, in an America where people now succeed through either infamy, excellence or claiming victim status, he was no real victim.

Rock was followed by Chappelle, who also referred to the moment in May he was attacked on stage in Los Angeles.

“That was some scary s**t,” he reflected, before saying that Rock upstaged him that night by walking on stage and asking, “Was that Will Smith?”

Chappelle referred to Smith’s assault of Rock as the “very strange choice” he’d made. He said Rock had always been himself, whereas his longtime friend Smith “did an impression of a perfect man for 30 years.”

“I just hope he doesn’t put that mask back on,” he added.

Chappelle and Rock are making a short tour of the UK and northern Europe before taking their act back to America at the end of September.