The 2022 Academy Awards will perpetually be remembered for one second that nobody noticed coming: Will Smith strolling onstage and slapping Chris Rock after a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith.
Dubbed the “slap heard ’round the world,” the incident overshadowed what was supposed to be a profession spotlight for the evening’s three hosts — Amy Schumer, Regina Hall, and Wanda Sykes.
Now, Sykes is shedding new gentle on what occurred after the very fact.
In a brand new profile with VarietySykes revealed that Smith tried to attain out to her straight after the altercation. “He called. I had COVID or a bad cold,” the comic defined. “I just texted to say, ‘Hey, I got your message. Thank you. I can’t talk.’ But he did call.”
That acknowledgment is important as a result of within the weeks following the Oscars, Sykes was vocal about feeling that nobody had checked in on the hosts.
During an look on The Ellen Show in March 2022, she mentioned, “No one has apologized to [the hosts]and we worked really hard to put that show together.”
Sykes, now 61, admitted that, trying again, her recollections of internet hosting the present are nonetheless overshadowed. “I mean, I loved working with Regina and Amy,” she informed Variety. “But like you said, it got overshadowed. People talk to me about that night without even mentioning, ‘Oh yeah, you hosted, right?’ Like I was in the audience or at home, watching TV. But I was there.”
While Smith has issued a number of public apologies, together with to Rock, Sykes famous that Rock himself reached out to her that evening on the Oscars afterparty. “He was like, ‘It was supposed to be your night,” Sykes continued. “You and Amy and Regina were doing such a great job. I’m so sorry this is now gonna be about this.’ Because that’s who Chris is.”
Smith, who resigned from the Academy following the incident, was banned from all Academy occasions for 10 years. He has since admitted his habits was “unacceptable and inexcusable,” writing on Instagram that he stays “a work in progress.”