Wanda Sykes has weighed in on the infamous slapping incident at the Academy Awards. The comedian, who co-hosted the ceremony with Regina Hall and Amy Schumer, spoke about the situation in a new interview with Ellen DeGeneres. Sykes said that after Will Smith smacked Chris Rock due to a joke made about Jada Pinkett Smith, she was left feeling disgusted, making it clear she disapproved of the Academy allowing the show to go on without any consequences for Smith.
During his acceptance speech for winning Best Lead Actor for King Richard, Smith apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees for the violent outburst. He was criticized for not apologizing to Rock in the speech, but Smith then publicly said sorry to the comedian on Instagram on Monday. Sykes says she should be given one as well, along with her fellow co-hosts, as the three of them were also disrespected by the incident.
“I just felt so awful for my friend Chris. It was sickening, absolutely sickening. I physically felt ill, and I’m still a little traumatized by it. And for them to let him stay in that room and enjoy the rest of the show and accept his award, I was like, ‘How gross is this? This is just the wrong message.’ You assault somebody, you get escorted out the building and that’s it. For them to let him continue, I thought was gross.”
“I know he apologized to Chris, but I believe that, you know, we were the hosts, right? So, this was our house, we invited you in, we were gonna take care of you all and make sure you had a good time. And no one has apologized to us. And we worked really hard to put that show together. The industry itself, I’m like, ‘What the hell is this?’ It’s wrong."
Wanda Sykes Says Chris Rock Apologized to Her, But She’s Still Waiting on One from Will Smith
ABC
It was reported that after the slapping incident, police approached Chris Rock, but the comedian declined to file charges against Will Smith. Rock had also reportedly attended Guy Oseary’s afterparty that night to mingle with friends, including Wanda Sykes. On Ellen, Sykes reveals what Rock told her at the afterparty, revealing that he apologized for the way the unfortunate situation overshadowed the hard work she’d put into the show with her co-hosts.
On Wednesday, Amy Schumer also addressed the situation that happened at the Oscars. She similarly said she still feels “triggered and traumatized,” though she also praised Chris Rock for how he handled the situation. Will Smith has since issued a public apology to Chris for his actions, but the Academy has also launched a formal investigation into the incident, and there might be some consequences that are coming Smith’s way.
“I hope he doesn’t mind me saying this but, I saw Chris at Guy’s afterparty and as soon as I walked up to him, the first thing he said was, ‘I’m so sorry. It was supposed to be your night. You, and Amy and Regina, you all were doing such a great job; I’m so sorry this is now going to be about this.’ Because, that’s who Chris is.”
