‘It was so disturbing’: Oscars co-host Amy Schumer says she’s ‘still triggered and traumatized’ after Will Smith’s slap – and praises Chris Rock for handling attack ‘like a pro’
- 40-year-old comedian addressed the scandal on Instagram in the early hours of Wednesday morning
- She said she is still ‘triggered and traumatized’ by the moment, which has become known as ‘the slap heard round the world’
- Schumer praised Rock, 57, for handling the ‘disturbing’ altercation ‘like a pro’ and said that she saw ‘so much pain’ in Smith, 53
- The mother-of-one added that she is ‘still in shock and stunned and sad’ and that she has a ‘sickening feeling’ that she’s ‘waiting to go away’
- Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head; the actress has openly spoken about losing her hair because of alopecia
Oscars co-host Amy Schumer said she is ‘still triggered and traumatized’ by the ‘disturbing’ moment that Will Smith stormed onto the stage and slapped Chris Rock during Sunday night’s award ceremony.
Smith, 53, sent shockwaves around the world when he slapped Rock, 57, after the comedian made a bald head joke about Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who has spoken about losing her hair due to alopecia.
Just 40 minutes later, Smith won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Richard Williams – father of tennis legends Serena and Venus – in the biopic King Richard.
He later apologized to Rock but still faces potentially being stripped of his Oscar.
Shocking: Oscars co-host Amy Schumer said she is ‘still triggered and traumatized’ after Will Smith stormed onto the stage and slapped Chris Rock on Sunday
Attack: Smith, 53, sent shockwaves around the world when he slapped Rock, 57, after the comedian made a bald head joke about Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith
Schumer, 40, wrote in a post to to plug her TV series, Life & Beth: ”But for real. Still triggered and traumatized. 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.
‘So much pain in @willsmith anyway I’m still in shock and stunned and sad. I’m proud of myself and my cohosts. But yeah. Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed.’
Schumer did not elaborate on why the attack triggered her – in the past she has spoken openly about being ‘grey-area raped’ when her ex took her virginity while she was sleeping.
Smith apologized for slapping Rock- saying his behavior was ‘unacceptable and inexcusable’ and left him ’embarrassed’.
The star wrote in an Instagram post that he was ’embarrassed’ by his actions, which shocked the ceremony attendees, producers and viewers.
‘Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,’ he wrote.
‘My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.
Fury: Schumer, 40, wrote in a post to to plug her TV series, Life & Beth: ”But for real. Still triggered and traumatized. I love my friend @chrisrock and believe he handled it like a pro’
‘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.’
Smith then went on to say sorry to the organizers and the producers of the show.
Rock has not responded to Smith’s apology, or commented on the incident.
Smith also extended his apology to the family of Venus and Serena Williams.
Richard Williams – who the Oscar-winner portrays in King Richard – said after the attack that he condemns violence.
The Academy has launched a formal review into his altercation with Rock during the ceremony saying in a statement that it ‘condemns the actions of Mr. Smith’ at the show.
A ‘full meeting’ of the Academy’s board of governors has been called for Wednesday evening, according to The Hollywood Reporter, who say the incident will be ‘topic number one’.
US comedian and former Oscars host Whoopi Goldberg spoke out following the incident saying Smith had ‘made a mistake’ and that the Academy would not take his best actor prize from him.
Moment: Will and Jada were seen reacting to Rock’s alopecia joke about Pinkett Smith’s shaved head at the Oscars Sunday, seconds before Smith marched on stage and slapped Rock
‘We’re not going to take that Oscar from him,’ she said on her talk show The View.
‘There will be consequences, I’m sure, but I don’t think that that’s what they’ll do, particularly because Chris said, ‘Listen, I’m not pressing any charges’.’
She said Smith had ‘overreacted’ and added: ‘I get it, not everyone acts the way we would like them to under pressure, some people just snap. He snapped.’
Other celebrities defended Smith, with comedian Tiffany Haddish saying the incident was ‘the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen’.
‘When I saw a black man stand up for his wife. That meant so much to me,’ she told People magazine at the Governors Ball after the ceremony.
‘Maybe the world might not like how it went down, but for me, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen because it made me believe that there are still men out there that love and care about their women, their wives.’
Taken away? Shortly after slapping Chris, Will won the best actor award for his portrayal of their father Richard – but the story of their family was overshadowed by Smith’s attack
Smith’s son Jaden 23, also appeared to defend his father’s actions, tweeting: ‘And That’s How We Do It’.
Tennis star Serena Williams, whose father was played by Smith in King Richard, shared a video on her Instagram story showing her looking shocked, later admitting she ‘had to put her drink down’.
Rock had joked on stage about Pinkett Smith’s buzzcut, saying: ‘Jada, can’t wait for GI Jane 2,’ prompting the actress to roll her eyes.
The Magic Mike XXL star and Red Table Talk host has previously spoken about her struggles with alopecia and said it is what prompted her to shave her head.
During his Late Late Show on American channel CBS, James Corden used a sketch to quip that Smith ‘can’t take a joke’.
Apology: Will has since apologised in an Instagram post, stating that he was ’embarrassed’ by his actions, which shocked the ceremony attendees, producers and viewers
Statement: ‘This is a season for healing and I’m here for it,’ Jada posted to Instagram Tuesday, two days after the incident that stunned millions of viewers
The Carpool Karaoke host told viewers: ‘Seriously though, I applaud Chris Rock for recovering, keeping the show moving. It was an incredibly dignified response.
‘I’ll say this, Will Smith can’t take a joke, Chris Rock can take a punch. A steel jaw. Unbelievable.’
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said no report had been filed after the incident.
On Tuesday, Jada broke her silence on the attack with an Instagram post: ‘This is a season for healing and I’m here for it,’.
Pinkett Smith, 50, posted the words on a pink background, but did not share a caption.
Hollywood A-listers react with shock to the moment Will Smith slaps Chris Rock
Hollywood A-listers standing backstage at the Academy Awards were ‘gasping’ after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage Sunday night, ceremony attendees have confirmed.
The host of celebrities in the green room at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, including tennis stars Serena Williams and Venus Williams, were left in stunned disbelief as they watched Smith storm the stage during Rock’s award presentation and slap him.
‘It went very quiet,’ a source who was in the green room during the incident told The Hollywood Reporter.
‘Everyone was like, ‘What the f**k is happening?! Did that just happen?! Oh my God!’ People were gasping,’ another insider alleged.
The insiders also reported seeing Jake Gyllenhaal, Zoe Kravitz, Kevin Costner, Anthony Hopkins, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman and John Travolta backstage during the attack.
Once the ceremony went to a commercial break, Academy Awards outgoing CEO Dawn Hudson and President David Rubin, along with the Oscars spokesperson, rushed backstage looking ‘as serious as could be’ and ‘walked very, very fast into a private room’ with Smith’s representative, Meredith O’Sullivan Wasson.
Sources said Hudson and Rubin never returned to the audience. Wasson reportedly spent several commercial breaks traveling between the backstage area and Smith’s seat, where she conferred with the actor. Jada Pinkett Smith, who was seen holding her husband’s hand, also allegedly consulted her own representatives during this time.
Rock skipped returning to the green room after presenting the award for best documentary feature.
The host of celebrities in the green room at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, including tennis stars Serena Williams and Venus Williams (pictured), were left stunned after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage during the Academy Awards Sunday night
As the chaos erupted onstage, Oscars producers and director Glenn Weiss made the decision to keep the live show going as it became obvious the slap was not a joke and a serious altercation had ensued.
‘You started to realize this is real once Chris, who certainly knows the limits of broadcast standards, said, “Will Smith slapped the s**t out of me,”‘ ABC’s Rob Mills, who was in the production trailer at the time, told Variety.
‘That’s when it became obvious that this was not a joke.’
Serena and Venus Williams (pictured) were backstage during the outburst. The insiders also reported seeing Jake Gyllenhaal, Zoe Kravitz, Kevin Costner, Anthony Hopkins, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman and John Travolta backstage
The network’s censor dropped the audio from the broadcast for a lengthy period of time, leaving many American viewers in confusion. Mills alleged that often, in these types of situations, officials err on the side of caution.
‘When you’re on the button, which I wasn’t but our our standards people were, I think you obviously go towards overcorrection than letting something get through,’ he said.
Mills claimed Rock’s joke, in which he compared Pinkett Smith to G.I. Jane, was an ad-lib.
‘Chris Rock came on and he was doing, I think, material based on what happened that night as any comedian will do,’ Mills said.
‘He made the [‘G.I. Jane’] joke. Obviously, you could see the joke did not land with Jada. And then you see Will start to get up and walk up.’
According to Mills, control room operators are prepared for unplanned incidents during live broadcasts, but the slap was not one they expected.
‘There have certainly been unpredictable moments where people have gotten up and done things, so we thought this was one of those,’ he said.
‘You have to remember that you’re putting a live show on. Had this been something that was being pre-taped, we would have stopped down. Things would have been addressed. We would have seen what to do next.’
‘It went very quiet,’ a source who was in the green room during the incident told The Hollywood Reporter. ‘Everyone was like, ‘What the f**k is happening?! Did that just happen?! Oh my God!’ People were gasping,’ another insider alleged.
Once the ceremony went into a commercial break, Academy Awards outgoing CEO Dawn Hudson (left) and President David Rubin (right), along with the Oscars spokesperson, rushed backstage looking ‘as serious as could be’ and ‘walked very, very fast into a private room’ with Smith’s representative. Sources allege Hudson and Rubin never returned to the audience
Smith’s representative, Meredith O’Sullivan Wasson, reportedly spent several commercial breaks traveling between the backstage area and Smith’s seat where she conferred with the actor. Jada Pinkett Smith, who was seen holding her husband’s hand, also allegedly consulted her own representatives during this time
Mills added: ‘But here, you have to remember you’ve got a show to do. Obviously, this was something that was unfortunate, but it was not to a degree that you think, ‘Okay, we need to just stop the entire show.’ And the show just kind of went on.’
He also alleged the Academy will have to ‘post-mortem’ the situation, suggesting it may perhaps put new protocols in place to prevent anything like this from happening again.
Mills reiterated the likelihood of a person nominated for best actor, which Smith did win, being involved in an incident is ‘almost billion to one’.
‘This was a real almost billion to one moment where the person involved in this incident was the probable winner for best actor,’ Mills explained.
‘So it’s just a scenario you don’t really know and you just got to keep the show going in the meantime and then obviously, AMPAS will address this afterwards, in the post mortem.’
Presenter Chris Rock speaks onstage as Will Smith and Jada Pinkett, bottom left, listen from their seats at the Oscars
After the slap, Smith was seen being comforted and consoled by Sean Combs (left) and Tyler Perry (right)
Bradley Cooper also pulled Smith aside and was seen in close conversation with him
Shortly after slapping Rock, Smith won the best actor award for his portrayal of Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Serena and Venus, in the film King Richard.
Moments after the assault, Serena Williams shared her shock on her Instagram stories, sharing a short video of her face with her jaw dropped.
Her initial video has no words, allowing her facial expression to speak for itself.
‘I just sat down, because I was like, I gotta put that drink down because…’ Williams, 40, said in another video moments later, widening her eyes.
The tennis champion may have been hesitant to condemn Smith too clearly, as she was at the Oscars Sunday night for a film he starred in and produced.
She and her sister Venus, 41, also have executive producer credits for the film.
However, Instagram videos — and in particular the second one, in which she gives side-eye and wrinkles her brow — appear to make the point that she didn’t approve of Smith’s outburst.
Serena Williams shared her too-stunned-to-speak reaction after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars on Sunday night
‘I just sat down, because I was like, I gotta put that drink down because…’ Serena says in another video moments later, widening her eyes
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