Oscars co-host Wanda Sykes reacted to actor Will Smith smacking comedian Chris Rock across the face at this year’s Oscars, 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,” Wanda 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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“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?'” Sykes continued. “This is just the wrong message. 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.”
Wanda Sykes also said that she believes Smith should apologize to her and her fellow Oscars co-hosts Amy Schumer and Regina Hall.
“I know [Smith] apologized to Chris,” she said. “But — we were the hosts. This is our house, we’re inviting you in, we’re hosts, we’re going to take care of y’all tonight; make sure you have a good time. And no one has apologized to us, and we worked really hard to put that show together.”
Sykes did, however, mention that Rock apologized to her when she later ran into him at an afterparty.
“The first thing he said, was, ‘I am so sorry,’ and I’m like, ‘Why are you apologizing?'” Sykes said. “He was like, ‘It was supposed to be your night, you and Amy and Regina — I’m so sorry. This is now going to be about this.'”
***LANGUAGE WARNING***
In reaction to Smith hitting Rock, comedian Amy Schumer — who also co-hosted the Oscars on Sunday night — said she is “still triggered and traumatized” by the incident.
“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,” Schumer said, according to a report by Page Six.
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.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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