The comic, whose family announced Tuesday that he died at the age of 67 after a long illness, shared a photo of him and fellow comedian Chris Rock.
Rock was slapped by Will Smith while presenting at the Academy Awards after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
“Which is the worst crime?,” the caption on the photo of Gottfried and Rock read. “Chris Rock being physically assaulted or Chris Rock telling a joke?”
Gotfried also shared the post on Twitter.
In a 2012 opinion piece for CNN, Gottfried defended fellow comics.
“If a comedian tells a joke that you find funny, you laugh. If he tells a joke you do not find funny, don’t laugh. Or you could possibly go as far as groaning or rolling your eyes,” he wrote. “Then you wait for his next joke; if that’s funny, then you laugh. If it’s not, you don’t laugh — or at very worst, you can leave quietly.”
