Speaking on the Ellen DeGeneres talk show, Sykes, a third of the trio who hosted Sunday’s Oscars, said that while she didn’t see Will Smith smack presenter Chris Rock for changing outfits, she did see Smith’s mundane verbal exchanges with Rock saw and the moments after.
“I just felt so awful for my friend Chris, and it was disgusting,” she told DeGeneres, according to a preview clip. “I felt physically ill and I’m still a bit traumatized by it.” Sykes also expressed frustration at Smith being allowed to remain in the theater and accept his award for Best Actor.
“So they could have him stay in this room and enjoy the rest of the show and accept his award, I said, ‘How gross is that? That’s just the wrong message,'” she said. “You attack someone, they escort you out of the building and that’s it. The fact that they let him continue was disgusting. Also, I wanted to be able to walk out after he won and say, ‘Sorry, I couldn’t.’ Be here tonight…'”
Smith has apologized for the incident. Rock has not yet made any public comments but will return to the stage with his stand-up tour tonight in Boston.
Sykes says she’s upset that “nobody” apologized to her and fellow hosts Amy Schumer and Regina Hall.
“We worked really hard putting this show together,” she said, only for it to be overshadowed.
Sykes shared that after one part, however, she and Rock interacted and he apologized to her, saying, “It was supposed to be your night,” Sykes said.
“This is Chris,” she said.
Schumer intervenes
Meanwhile, Schumer shared her thoughts on Instagram, explaining that she still feels “triggered and traumatized.”
“I love my boyfriend @chrisrock and think he handled it like a pro,” she wrote. “Stayed up there and gave his friend @questlove an Oscar and it was so disturbing.”
Rock was presented with the award for Best Documentary when Smith stormed onto the stage and slapped him in the face for a joke Rock had made about Smith’s wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith.
“I’m still shocked and stunned and sad. I am proud of myself and my colleagues. But yes. Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we’ve all seen,” Schumer wrote in the post, which she also pinned on her Hulu series Life and Beth, and joked, “I think we all agree that the best way to unpack what happened is to stream my series.”