Wanda Sykes “still traumatised” by Will Smith Oscars slap

The comedian told a stand-up crowd that it still makes her "emotional"

Wanda Sykes has said that she’s “still traumatised” by Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars ceremony.

The comedian told the crowd at a stand-up show in Orlando, Florida on Thursday (May 19) that she was appalled that the actor was allowed to remain at the event and accept his Best Actor award for King Richard following the incident.

“I’m still traumatised,” Sykes said [via People]. “I can’t talk about it. I get emotional.”

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The 2022 Oscars co-host continued: “I couldn’t believe he was still sitting there, like an asshole. Shouldn’t you be sitting there with a lawyer or LAPD, motherfucker?”

Will Smith Chris Rock
Will Smith slaps Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars 2022. Credit: Getty Images

Despite remaining upset about the slap, Sykes did acknowledge that Smith has some personal issues that may have caused him to act violently after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada. “I hope he gets his shit together,” Sykes said. “Until then, fuck him.”

At the March ceremony Smith took issue with Rock suggesting that Jada looked like G.I. Jane. It was believed to be in reference to Jada’s close-cropped hairdo, which she has sported since receiving an alopecia diagnosis in 2018. However, a source close to Rock alleged to TMZ that the comedian wasn’t aware of her condition when he made the joke.

Oscars 2022 hosts
Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes – Oscars 2022 hosts (Picture: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for InStyle/Steve Granitz/WireImage/Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Deadline)

Sykes previously aired her discomfort at Smith being allowed to stay at the awards.

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“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? This is just the wrong message,’ [via IndieWire].

“You assault somebody, you get escorted out of the building and that’s it. For them to let him continue, I thought it was gross,” she said, before joking that “I wanted to be able to run out after he won and say, ‘Unfortunately, Will couldn’t be here tonight’”.

Sykes revealed in March that Rock said sorry to her after the slap, but added that she was disappointed that she hadn’t yet received an apology from Smith.

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