Amy Schumer Goes OFF About 'Toxic Masculinity' During First Public Appearance Since Will Smith Oscars Slap
April 4 2022, Published 11:38 a.m. ET
Amy Schumer vented about "toxic masculinity" during her first public appearance since hosting the 2022 Oscars gave her a front-row seat to the Will Smith and Chris Rock drama.
"This is my first time doing a headlining show since I was pregnant. I am so excited, it feels so good to be back in Vegas," the comedian, 40, said during a stand-up gig Saturday at the Mirage Theater in Sin City, per The Hollywood Reporter. "We’re gonna talk about everything and the Oscars, but I just want to talk about drinking because I have been drinking so much and I am severely hungover."
Last Sunday, Smith took over headlines due to his showdown with Rock, who was serving as a presenter during the 94th Academy Awards. Rock made a G.I. Jane joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett, who has been struggling with hair loss and alopecia, leading the King Richard star to storm on the stage and slap the comic before giving a stern warning twice over.
"Keep my wife's name out your f—ing mouth," Smith yelled from his seat.
Schumer said she has been processing the events of that evening during her latest set. "I have no jokes about it,” the Trainwreck actress told the audience. "All I can say is that I don’t know if you saw this but Will Smith slapped Chris Rock. Did you read that in your news feed?"
"I was kind of feeling myself … and then all of a sudden Ali was making his way up," she continued, referencing the performer’s 2001 film Ali. "And it was just a f—ing bummer. All I can say is that it was really sad, and I think it says so much about toxic masculinity. It was really upsetting, but I think the best way to comfort ourselves would be for me to say the Oscar jokes that I wasn’t allowed to say on TV."
Schumer admitted she had some jabs written about other stars including James Franco and Joe Rogan, although her lawyer advised against the quips prior to the Oscars.
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"Don’t Look Up is the name of a movie, more like don’t look down the barrel of Alec Baldwin’s shotgun," she joked. "I wasn’t allowed to say any of that but you can't just come up and [clock] someone."
Following the Oscars, Schumer said she still felt "triggered and traumatized" by the ordeal, leading to backlash from fans. Despite facing criticism, the I Feel Pretty star stood by her comments.
"Want to thank Michael Cera for the Don't Look Up joke. @Sulimcollough for the Leo joke, @WangPix for the Williams' sister dad joke," she wrote via Instagram on April 1, before doubling down on her remarks. "That s— that happened was upsetting and I'm not gonna pretend it wasn't."
