Those who watched the winners get handed out at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022 will not soon forget the sight of Will Smith storming the stage and slapping presenter Chris Rock. It was a shocking and upsetting turn of events that resulted in widespread industry chatter and consequences: Smith was forced to resign his membership to the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences, and he was banned from attending the Oscars or any other Academy event for a decade. In the aftermath, Wanda Sykes (one of the three co-hosts that night) was one of the most outspoken critics of the moment, and in recent reflection on what happened, she explained that it wasn't just the slap that upset her but also the immediate reaction to it at the ceremony.
Sykes recently appeared as a guest on an episode of The Breakfast Club, and the subject of Chris Rock came up in conversation with co-host Charlamagne Tha God because of the significant role that he had in her career: one of her first big breaks in the industry was writing for The Chris Rock Show in the late 1990s.
The two comedians remain close. So, when asked about her reaction to the notorious Oscar slap, she explained that she was "sickened" to see to first see the assault and then watch everyone pretend that things were normal. Said Sykes,
I caught a lot of flack from that, because I said, you know, about how I felt. I'm like, ‘Y'all got to realize I was working that night, and I watched my coworker get popped, you know, at work.’.... That’s not supposed to happen. So I was upset, like physically upset by that. And then it just even sickened me more watching everybody just sit out there and not react and then to give that man an award afterwards. I was like, ‘I'm done with y'all.’ I really was. I was like, ‘I’m done with all this.’
As noted by Sykes, Will Smith ultimately went back to his seat after slapping Chris Rock, and the incident was very shortly followed by Smith winning the Academy Award for Best Actor. There was no real interruption to the proceedings, and it wasn't until after the show that consequences were handed down.
In the aftermath, Wanda Sykes did get a call from Will Smith, but she was sick at the time and he left a message. She responded with a text thanking him for reaching out.
Sykes has since said that she would never host the Academy Awards again, but she is doing just fine otherwise: in addition to regular acting work in film and television (both live-action and animation), she is a hugely popular standup, some of her recent work including the 2023 Netflix special Wanda Sykes: I'm an Entertainer.
