Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/For The Washington Post via Getty Images and Scott Olson/Getty Images)
- Comedian Chris Rock said on Sunday that arresting Donald Trump would only boost his popularity.
- He compared the possible indictment to how Tupac Shakur released a bestselling album from prison.
- Rock was likely joking, but right-wing figures also say Trump could benefit from being indicted.
Comedian Chris Rock said arresting former President Donald Trump would be like imprisoning Tupac Shakur — arguing that it'll only boost the bombastic 2024 presidential candidate and help Trump rally more support.
"Are you guys really going to arrest Trump?" Rock asked on stage at a Sunday event to award the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to Adam Sandler, per multiple reports.
Rock joked that apprehending Trump "is only going to make him more popular," The Guardian's David Smith and Deadline reported.
"It is like arresting Tupac. He's just going to sell more records," Rock said, per Deadline.
"Are you stupid? He slept with a porn star and paid off someone so his wife wouldn't find out. That's romantic," Rock said.
Audience members, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and show business celebrities like Conan O'Brien, Steve Buscemi, and Jennifer Aniston, laughed at Rock's joke, Fox News reported.
"We've all been cheated on. Don't you wish that the person that cheated on you paid off somebody so you wouldn't find out?" Rock continued, per Fox News.
The comedian's mention of rapper Tupac Shakur likely referred to when Shakur served eight months in prison in 1995 on a sexual assault charge that he later appealed. Shakur released the album "Me Against The World" while serving his sentence, and it sold over 3 million copies.
Trump, meanwhile, may soon be indicted by a New York grand jury. The Manhattan district attorney's office is now investigating if hush-money payments to the adult film actress, Stormy Daniels, should be considered an illegal Trump campaign expense. Trump has preemptively claimed without evidence that he will be arrested on Tuesday.
While Rock's comments on Sunday were part of a comedy bit, some right-wing figures have pushed the idea that a Trump indictment in New York may help to boost the former president's popularity.
"I believe this will catapult him to the White House," Trump defense lawyer Joe Tacopina told MSNBC's Ari Melber.
"These idiots are sealing their own fate in 2024 because the silent majority has two feelings right now about the current regime. Fear and anger," tweeted Trump loyalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Sunday. "That is the most powerful combination when election time comes."
Trump, meanwhile, has asked his supporters to "protest" and "take back our country" if he gets indicted.
Representatives for Rock, the Manhattan District Attorney's office, and Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent after business hours.