Comedian and Oscars co-host Amy Schumer reacted to actor Will Smith smacking comedian Chris Rock across the face at this year’s Oscars, saying “the whole thing was so disturbing,” and that she is “still triggered and traumatized” by the incident.
“Still triggered and traumatized,” Schumer said, according to a report by Page Six. “I love my friend [Chris Rock] 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.”
“[Rock] stayed up there and gave an Oscar to his friend [Questlove] and the whole thing was so disturbing,” Schumer said on the social media.
Schumer’s fellow Oscars co-host Wanda Sykes also reacted to Will Smith’s shocking Oscars meltdown, calling the moment “sickening,” adding, “you assault somebody, you get escorted out of the building and that’s it. For them to let him continue, I thought it was gross.”
“I just felt so awful for my friend Chris,” Sykes told Ellen Degeneres in a recent interview. “It was sickening. I physically felt ill. and I’m still a little traumatized by it.”
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On Sunday, Smith marched onto the Oscars stage and struck Rock in the face after the comedian referred to Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith as “G.I. Jane.” The actor then twice shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth” after retaking his seat in the audience.
The Academy Awards condemned Smith’s actions, declaring that it “does not condone violence in any form,” and later announced a formal investigation into the matter.
With its board of governors meeting on Wednesday, the question remains whether the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will expel Smith for assaulting Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars, given that the organization has kicked out a member for committing a far lesser offense.
In 2004, actor Carmine Caridi was kicked out for pirating VHS screeners that Academy members used to receive for awards consideration. Unlike Smith, Caridi showed remorse for what led to his Academy outsing.
Smith, on the other hand, appeared unbothered by his actions, as he danced the night away with fellow Hollywood elites at the Vanity Fair Oscars after party, just hours after assaulting Rock. Smith also told the Hollywood Reporter “It’s been a beautiful night.”
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