Wanda Sykes and Amy Schumer both say they are “traumatized” from watching Will Smith slap Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards.
In an excerpt from an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show airing later this week, Sykes expressed her disappointment with the Academy for not escorting Smith out of the venue.
“I just felt so awful for my friend Chris,” Sykes said. “And 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.’”
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Sykes continued: “We were the hosts, right? So this is our house, we’re inviting you in, we’re the hosts, we’re gonna take care of y’all tonight. Make sure you have a good time. And no one has apologized to us. We work really hard to put that show together. The industry itself, I’m like, ‘What is this?’”
Sykes’ fellow Oscars co-host took to Instagram to share her own feelings on the matter, saying in a since-deleted post that she was “triggered and traumatized” while also promoting her new show, Life and Beth.
“I think we can all agree that the best way to unpack what happened is to stream my series @lifeandbethhulu and see me on tour this fall,” Schumer wrote, because nothing says “distressed” like a little self-inflation. “But for real. Still triggered and traumatized. I love my friend @chrisrock and believe he handled it like a pro. Stayed up there and gave an Oscar to his friend @questlove and the whole thing was so disturbing.”
The Humans actress continued, “I’m still in shock and stunned and sad. I’m proud of myself and my cohosts. But yeah. Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed.” Below, see the clip of Sykes’ interview and Schumer’s full post.
In case you’ve somehow missed it: Will Smith hit Chris Rock after the latter made a joke insinuating that Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head — a hairstyle decision she made after struggling with alopecia — made her look like G.I. Jane. “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!” Smith hollered twice.
Smith has since apologized to the Academy and Rock for his behavior, though that hasn’t stopped fellow actors like Alec Baldwin and Jim Carrey from sharing their questionable takes about the incident.
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Tagged: 2022 Academy Awards, Alternative Music, Amy Schumer, Chris Rock, Film, music blog, NEWS, wanda sykes, Will Smith