While performing a stand-up comedy show in Orlando this week, the comedian and Oscars co-host had a lot of thoughts to share about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage at the award ceremony. “I’m still traumatized,” Sykes said (via PEOPLE). “I can’t talk about it. I get emotional.” But talk about it she did. Sykes went on to say that she was appalled that Smith was allowed to stay in the Dolby Theatre and accept his Oscar for Best Actor after the incident. “I couldn’t believe he was still sitting there, like an asshole,” she said. “Shouldn’t you be sitting there with a lawyer or LAPD, motherfucker?” While she remains upset, she acknowledged that Smith has some problems that may have contributed to the slap. “I hope he gets his shit together,” she said. “Until then, fuck him.”
This is not the first time Sykes has been critical of the decision to let Smith stay in his seat after the slap.
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“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 of the building and that’s it. For them to let him continue, I thought it was gross,” she said soon after the Oscars, before joking that “I wanted to be able to run out after he won and say, ‘Unfortunately, Will couldn’t be here tonight.’”
The backlash to Smith slapping Rock has been fierce, with the actor losing film roles and receiving a 10-year ban from attending the Oscars. Smith also chose to resign from the Academy. “My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable,” he said in a statement. “The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home. I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken.”
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