Chris Rock took a jab at Jussie Smollett on Saturday, calling the Empire star a “waste of light skin” less than a week after charges against the actor were dropped.

Rock, 54, was on hand to present an award at the NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles — and though he said he’d been told not to make mention of Smollett, the comedian went for it anyway.

“They said no Jussie Smollett jokes. I know, I know! What a waste of light skin, you know?” said Rock, drawing laughter from the crowd. “You know what I could do with that light skin? That curly hair? My career would be outta here. F—ing running Hollywood. That’s no… What the hell was he thinking?”

The star continued, joking that the scandal — in which Smollett was accused of orchestrating an alleged hate crime against himself — had stripped him of his ability to go by his given name.

Earl Gibson III/Getty Images; Jerod Harris/Getty Images More

“From now on, I ain’t never gonna… You Jessie from now on. You don’t even get the ‘u’ no more,” he said, again getting laughs from stars like Trevor Noah. “That ‘u’ was respect — you ain’t getting no respect from me.”

Chris Rock: Jussie Smollett, You Don't Get No Respect From Me #ImageAwards50 pic.twitter.com/97vpDkLltQ — TV One (@tvonetv) March 31, 2019

Rock presented the award for outstanding comedy series to Black-ish, though star Yara Shahidi, 19, had a different take, telling the crowd as she accepted the trophy, “I stand with Jussie.”

Her co-star Anthony Anderson, who also served as the night’s host, previously expressed his support for Smollett as well, telling Variety he hoped to see the nominated Smollett in attendance.

RELATED: Jussie Smollett Likely Wouldn’t Have Gone to Prison Even if Found Guilty at Trial: Prosecutor

Anthony Anderson, Jussie Smollett | Jesse Grant/Getty Images; Jerod Harris/Getty Images More

“I hope he wins. I’m happy for him that the system worked for him in his favor because the system isn’t always fair, especially for people of color,” Anderson, 48, told the outlet. “So I’m glad it worked out for him. It’s not my place or any other person’s place to judge him or what not, but I’m glad that he’s nominated… I hope he wins because I’d be interested to hear his speech.”

Smollett was nominated for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series for Empire, though he did not win and did not attend the dinner where his category was presented on Friday nor the televised awards ceremony on Saturday.