Oscars Host Wanda Sykes Says She’s ‘Traumatized’ by Will Smith Infamous Slap

Wanda Sykes isn’t backing down on her comments regarding being disgusted by Will Smith’s actions at the 2022 Oscars. Smith infamously walked onto the stage to slap Rock with an open hand after Rock made a joke about his wife’s bald head. Jada Pinkett Smith has been open about her struggles since being diagnosed with alopecia. Smith has since apologized and accepted a 10-year ban from attending the award show. Not only does Sykes find it appropriate, but she also stands by previous sentiments she made during an appearance on Ellen. 

“I’m still traumatized,” Sykes, 58, told audience members attending hee standup comedy tour in Orlando, Florida which took place at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. “I can’t talk about it. I get emotional. I couldn’t believe he was still sitting there, like an assh— …Shouldn’t you be sitting there with a lawyer or LAPD, motherf—? I hope he gets his s— together. Until then, f— him.”

Sykes told DeGeneres just days after the incident that she felt “physically felt ill” watching the ordeal unfold live in person. “And for them to let [Will] stay in that room and enjoy the rest of the show and accept his award, I was like, ‘How gross is this?’ This sends the wrong message,” Sykes stated at the time.

A longtime friend of Rock, Sykes said that she “felt so awful for my friend Chris.” She ran into him later that night and said she was stunned by Rock’s response. 

“I saw Chris at [Guy Oseary’s afterparty] and as soon as I walked up to him, the first thing he said is, ‘I’m so sorry.’ I was like, ‘Why are you apologizing?’” she said she asked him. “He was like, ‘It was supposed to be your night. You and Amy and Regina were doing such a great job. I’m so sorry this is now gonna be about this.’” Sykes was one of the three co-hosts of the event that evening.