Comedian Amy Schumer was one of the co-hosts of the 94th Annual Academy Awards held last Sunday in Los Angeles. As the co-host, not only did she entertain the audience with several jokes, but also had front row seats to the drama that unfolded when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on the stage. In her recent stand-up set in Las Vegas, Amy opened up about the Oscars and also revealed the one joke that she wasn't 'allowed' to tell at the ceremony. Also read: Oscars co-host Amy Schumer is 'triggered and traumatised' by Will Smith incident: 'Chris Rock handled it like a pro'
Amy co-hosted the Oscars 2022 ceremony with Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes, and although they were not at the stage when the Will-Chris slap incident occurred, the trio tried to salvage the night after that. Amy was also criticised for a bit she did where she called Oscar nominee Kirsten Dunst a 'seat filler'. She later revealed that both Kirsten and her husband Jesse Plemmons were in on the joke. However, that wasn't Amy's most controversial joke of the night.
One of the jokes Amy said she wasn't allowed to say on the Oscars stage referred to last year's incident where actor Alec Baldwin accidentally shot a crew member on the sets of his film Rust. Starting with a reference to Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer Don't Look Up, Amy recounted the joke, "Don’t Look Up is the name of a movie? More like don’t look down the barrel of Alec Baldwin’s shotgun. I wasn’t allowed to say any of that, but you can just come up and (slap) someone."
On October 21, 2021, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died after being shot and injured on the sets of Rust. The incident occurred as a live round was fired by a prop gun being handled by lead actor Alec Baldwin. The incident sparked a huge debate about safety procedures and guidelines on Hollywood sets. It is likely that the Oscars producers deemed Amy's joke too insensitive for the ceremony.
{{/usCountry}}On October 21, 2021, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died after being shot and injured on the sets of Rust. The incident occurred as a live round was fired by a prop gun being handled by lead actor Alec Baldwin. The incident sparked a huge debate about safety procedures and guidelines on Hollywood sets. It is likely that the Oscars producers deemed Amy's joke too insensitive for the ceremony.
{{/usCountry}}Talking about the slap incident itself, Amy said, "I was kind of feeling myself. And then all of a sudden, Ali (referring to Will Smith, who played boxer Muhammed Ali in a 2001 biopic) was making his way up 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."
Earlier, in an Instagram post, Amy had said she was ‘triggered and traumatised’ by the incident and applauded Chris for ‘handling it like a pro’. “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,” her post read.