Chris Rock’s SNL Joke About Juan Soto and Immigrants? Yeah, People Are Pissed
Chris Rock’s Saturday Night Live (SNL) monologue did not land well with everyone. During his opening monologue, the comedian took jabs at Juan Soto and the New York Mets. While a joke about a baseball contract wouldn’t be a big deal, it was the words that Rock used to poke fun at the baseball player and team while, some have said, disparaging immigrants.
Here’s the joke that has people upset with Chris Rock
“You know, a lot less immigrants would come to America if you stopped paying them $700 million to play baseball,” Rock said during the monologue. “Steve Cohen bought one Dominican for $700 million. Used to be able to get a whole bushel for that much. I said, ‘bushel!’”
The joke elicited laughs from the audience. But there were audible groans from some. Spanish-language users on X (formerly Twitter) sounded off about their frustration with the joke. The willingness to punch down at someone as they achieve incredible success is a low blow. Especially when you yourself have achieved widespread success.
The joke has received mixed reactions, but some people think he deserves another slap
Some cracked their own jokes, saying that Juan Soto has enough money now to make Will Smith recreate his infamous Oscars slap. Who can forget when he joked about Jada Pickett Smith and her husband marching on stage and slapping Rock across the face? It is a moment of pop culture infamy that will live on for years to come.
For many, Rock, due to his jokes, has now become forever tied to being slapped for the world to see. Yet he is known for being an unapologetic comedian who is always willing to draw controversy for his art. There has been much discussion in the comedic world about when people should admit to being offensive, and many comedians defend jokes that might offend the public.
Even Jon Stewart defended Tony Hinchcliffe after his joke at Madison Square Garden.
Juan Soto’s contract is an impressive feat, and we love to see people in our community succeed
Soto’s contract is a historic moment in Major League Baseball. Per the contract terms, Soto will make $765 million over the next 15 years. Fans are thrilled, according to current ticket sales.
The New York Post has reported that the announcement of Soto joining the New York Mets has already materialized in never-before-seen ticket sales. Ticket sales broke the record for the most sold on the first day. The Mets reported that ticket sales tripled compared to the last offseason first-day sale, and, within one week, they doubled the number of tickets sold compared to the previous year.
“Prior to the excitement from last week, we were already seeing the strongest demand for tickets during the offseason that we have experienced in recent history,’’ Mets senior vice president of ticketing Jake Bye told The New York Post. “This began with a dramatic run to the NLCS and was further fueled by adding a generational talent like Juan Soto.”
