Chris Rock Apologized to Wanda Sykes After Will Smith Oscars Slap

On Sunday, Chris Rock was smacked by Will Smith over a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair at the 2022 Academy Awards.

Host Wanda Sykes has just revealed that she received an apology from Chris following the shocking incident.

On Wednesday’s episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Sykes shared, “I hope he doesn’t mind me saying this, but I saw Chris at Guy [Oseary]’s party.”

“And as soon as I walked up to him, the first thing he said was, ‘I am so sorry,’ and I’m like, ‘Why are you apologizing?’” Wanda said.

Chris acknowledged that “it was supposed to be” her night, saying, “Y’all were doing such a great job. I’m so sorry this is now gonna be about this.”

Wanda admitted she was “traumatized” by the smackdown, saying, “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. You assault somebody, you get escorted out the building, and that’s it.”

She added, “I wanted to run out after he won and say, ‘Unfortunately, Will couldn’t be here tonight.’”

Will has since apologized to Chris. He wrote on Instagram on Monday, “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive… Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally. I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

Wanda pointed out, “We were the hosts… No one has apologized to us and we worked really hard to put that show together.”

Wanda did not speak on the incident at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party when Page Six asked for comment.

Sykes hosted the star-studded ceremony with Amy Schumer and Regina Hall.

Schumer shared her reaction on Instagram. Amy joked, "I think we can all agree that the best way to unpack what happened is to stream my series @lifeandbethhulu and see me on tour this fall,” before getting serious. "But for real. Still triggered and traumatized.”

She added, "I love my friend @chrisrock and believe he handled it like a pro. Stayed up there and gave an Oscar to his friend @questlove and the whole thing was so disturbing.”

Amy said of Will, “So much pain in @willsmith anyway I'm still in shock and stunned and sad."

Schumer had to take the stage shortly after the altercation, and at the time she joked with the audience, "Did I miss something?"

Reflecting on the night, her Instagram caption continued, "Im proud of myself and my cohosts. But yeah. Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed."

Many comedians have spoken out in support of Rock, including Jim Carrey, who also said he was “sickened” by the incident.

Carrey sat down with Gayle King on “CBS Mornings,” where she asked what Jim thought as he watched the moment unfold, and about what happened afterward.

Jim told Gayle, “I was sickened by the standing ovation. I felt like Hollywood is just spineless en masse. It really felt like that is really a clear indication that we aren’t the cool club anymore.”

Chris was presenting Best Documentary when he poked fun at Jada, saying he was looking forward to “G.I. Jane 2.”

Pinkett Smith immediately did not look pleased, and Will walked straight onstage and smacked Chris with his open hand.

As Smith walked back to his seat, a clearly shaken Rock said, “Oh, wow — Will Smith just smacked the s—t out of me.”

Rock insisted, “It was a ‘G.I. Jane’ joke,” and Will twice yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—king mouth.”

Rock told him, “I’m going to.”