Wanda Sykes Reveals Will Smith Apologized to Her for Chris Rock Oscars Slap

Wanda Sykes is recounting her experience with the infamous moment Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the 2022 Academy Awards — and revealing that Smith did, in fact, offer her an apology over the ordeal.

The topic came up in a Variety profile published on Monday, Oct. 27. Amid discussions about the end of her Netflix series The Upshaws, Sykes was asked about hosting the Oscars, which interviewer Selome Hailu noted is “usually a career highlight” for stand-up comedians.

“I forgot about that,” Sykes, 61, responded.

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Sykes cohosted the Oscars that year with Amy Schumer and Regina Hall. But to many, including Hailu, their time on stage was “overshadowed” by the moment Smith slapped Rock after the Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

“I mean, I loved working with Regina [Hall] and Amy [Schumer]. But like you said, it got overshadowed,” Sykes recalled, when asked how she looked back on the evening. “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.”

The comedian then admitted that Smith did reach out to her to apologize for the incident, but the two never spoke.

“He called. I had COVID or a bad cold,” she told Variety. “I just texted to say, ‘Hey, I got your message. Thank you. I can’t talk.’ But he did call.”

In previous conversations, Sykes had claimed that that she hadn’t heard from Smith. “No one has apologized to [the hosts], and we worked really hard to put that show together,” she said during an interview with Ellen DeGeneres on The Ellen Show in March 2022.

Rock, Sykes went on to say, did apologize to her for the incident at that year’s Oscars afterparty — though in her eyes, that wasn’t necessary.

“I was like, ‘Why are you apologizing?’ ” Sykes teased. “He was like, ‘It was supposed to be your night. You and Amy and Regina were doing such a great job. I’m so sorry this is now gonna be about this,’ ” she said at the time. “Because that’s who Chris is.

Smith, 57, was banned for 10 years by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for hitting Rock, 60, during the 2022 ceremony. The organization decided that the Bad Boys actor was “not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards,” per a letter it released in April of that year.

The actor, who resigned from the Academy in the incident’s aftermath, has apologized multiple times for his actions — including to Rock.

“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,” Smith wrote, in part, on Instagram. “My behavior at [the] 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.”

“I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us,” he said. “I am a work in progress.”

Several months after the incident, in July 2022, Rock said that although the slap “hurt,” he was “not a victim.”