Wanda Sykes felt ‘physically ill’ after Will Smith, Chris Rock Oscars slap
Comedian Wanda Sykes, one of the three hosts at the now-infamous 94th Academy Awards, has weighed in on the notorious on-stage slap that shocked audiences around the world.
Sykes was en route from her trailer back to the Oscars theatre when Will Smith walked on stage to slap comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. She did, however, witness the verbal exchange afterward, when Smith told Rock to “Keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth!”
In an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Wednesday, Sykes told the host she felt “sickened” and “physically ill” by Smith’s
“I just felt so awful for my friend, Chris,” said Sykes. “I’m still a little traumatized by it.” Sykes also said Smith should not have been allowed to stay in the theatre or accept his award, I was like, “How gross is this? This is just the wrong message,” she said. “You assault somebody, you get escorted out the building and that’s it. For them to let him continue, I thought it was gross.”
“Plus, I wanted to be able to run out after he won and say, ‘Unfortunately Will couldn’t be here tonight…” she joked.
On Wednesday, The Academy said Smith was asked to leave Sunday’s Oscar ceremony after hitting Rock but refused to do so.
