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Wanda Sykes Says Chris Rock Apologized To Her After Oscars Slap—But Will Smith Has Not

Wanda Sykes Says Chris Rock Apologized To Her After Oscars Slap—But Will Smith Has Not
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images; Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

It seems like every passing day another surprising detail emerges about the now-infamous "slap heard 'round the world" that occurred at Sunday night's Oscars when Will Smith hit Chris Rock for making a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith's hair.

The newest glimpse into the chaos comes from comedian Wanda Sykes, one of the show's co-hosts along with Regina Hall and Amy Schumer.

Sykes gave her account of the night during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Wednesday, and revealed while Chris Rock apologized to her after the slap, Will Smith has said nothing.

See the segment below.

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Talking with DeGeneres, Sykes said when she saw Rock at one of the after-parties, he immediately apologized.

"[T]he first thing he said was: ‘I’m so sorry.'"
"And I’m like, ‘Why are you apologizing?' And he’s like, 'It was supposed to be your night. You and Amy and Regina, y’all were doing such a great job. I’m so sorry. This is now going to be about this.'"

Sykes went on to criticize Smith, whom she feels owes not just her, but also Hall and Schumer an apology.

"We were the hosts, right?... [W]e're gonna take care of y'all tonight, and make sure you have a good time. And no one has apologized to us."
"And we worked really hard to put that show together... What the hell is this?"

Sykes also described how disturbing it was to witness the slap firsthand, calling the incident "sickening" and saying she is still "a little traumatized by it."

She also criticized the producers of the show and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which administers the Oscars, for allowing Smith to remain at the ceremony.

"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?'"
"...You assault somebody you get escorted out the building and that's it."

On Twitter, many people agreed with Sykes and applauded her for speaking out.





But like seemingly any discussion of this event, her perspective also seemed to only deepen the online debate about the incident.

Sykes' fellow co-host Amy Schumer also weighed in on the incident on Wednesday, calling it "disturbing" and "sickening" in a since-deleted Instagram post.