Oscars host Wanda Sykes has spoken and revealed how she felt for her friend Chris Rock after he was slapped by Will Smith over a joke about Jada Pinkett’s bald head. Everyone at the Oscars felt bad except Jada!
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Following the slap, the show had to go on for the three Oscar hosts — Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall and Amy Schumer — but figuring out how to process what went down really only started once the cameras stopped rolling. Even months later Sykes still struggles, and she opened up about how it felt to see her friend Rock get hit on stage.
Wanda Sykes and Chris Rock have been friends for a long time and appeared together on screen in movies like Pootie Tang and Down to Earth. Sykes had some strong words for Will Smith after he responded to a joke Rock told about Jada Pinkett Smith by going on stage and slapping the comedian on live television. Sykes talked about being “traumatized” in the aftermath, and she told THR it’s something she still hasn’t been able to fully get past:
I should probably talk to somebody, to be honest. It was crazy. It ruined the night. I felt awful for my friend [Rock], for his family. It’s just so shitty. And, for our industry, who are we? We all saw what happened and just sat there. It’s the craziest thing ever. It reflects where we are in this country as far as the level of civility.
Wanda Sykes is still apparently feeling the effects of what happened to her friend, to the point where she says she should probably talk to someone about it. She said it ruined the night, and it’s hard to look back at how everyone reacted to the surreal moment. Following “the slap heard around the world,” everyone was in a state of shock.
Flip to the next page to watch Wanda Sykes share her thoughts on the Oscars mess…