Oscars host Wanda Sykes 'physically felt ill' after the slap

Wanda Sykes thought ‘How gross is this?’ after Will Smith lost it at the Oscars

A Black woman wearing a white tuxedo poses on a red carpet

By Kristina Garcia

March 30, 2022 2:59 PM PT

Oscars co-host Wanda Sykes says she felt sick after Will Smith smacked her friend Chris Rock in the final hour of the awards broadcast.

“I just felt so awful for my friend, you know, Chris and it was — it was sickening. It was absolutely — I physically felt ill and I’m still a little traumatized by it,” Sykes said Wednesday on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

“And for [the Academy], 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,’” she said. “You assault somebody, you get escorted out the building. And that’s it, you know. But for them to let him continue, I thought — I thought it was was gross.”

For those who’ve been in hiding: During the Oscars, right before Questlove won the documentary feature award for “Summer of Soul,” presenter Rock riffed on the celebrities seated up close, making a “G.I. Jane” joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. She didn’t appreciate the humor, so Will Smith walked onto the stage and smacked Rock in the face.

Less than an hour later, the “King Richard” star gave a tearful acceptance speech as he accepted the Oscar for lead actor.

While at talent manager Guy Oseary’s Beverly Hills home for the talent manager’s elite Oscars after-party, Sykes said, she spotted Rock. As she walked up to him, the first thing he did was apologize to her for the scene on stage, she said. Then he praised her and co-hosts Regina Hall and Amy Schumer for doing “a great job.”

“And I’m like, why are you apologizing,” she said, “and he’s like, ‘It was supposed to be your night.’”

DeGeneres, who hosted the Oscars in 2007 and 2014, told her guest that she should feel proud.

“It’s a big deal. It’s a bucket list when you get to host the Oscars, and for something to happen, like what happened with Will and Chris, it takes away from so many things,” DeGeneres said.

Sykes said that although Smith and the academy have apologized to some individuals, she has yet to hear any apology except for Rock’s that was directed at her and her co-hosts.

“We were the hosts, right? ... ‘This is our house. We’re inviting you in. We’re hosts. We’re keeping — we’re gonna 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 said.

Co-host Amy Schumer also spoke out about the incident Wednesday, saying on Instagram that she still feels “triggered” by it.