Oscars Co-Host Amy Schumer: I Wasn’t Allowed to Joke About Alec Baldwin but Will Smith Could Assault a Presenter

Robyn Beck/Getty Images
Robyn Beck/Getty Images
Alana Mastrangelo

Oscars co-host Amy Schumer says she “wasn’t allowed” to make jokes about actor Alec Baldwin at the Academy Awards but actor Will Smith was able to assault the show’s presenter, comedian Chris Rock.

Schumer, who co-hosted this year’s Oscars alongside Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall, chimed in on Smith’s infamous slap while performing standup at the Aces of Comedy series at the Mirage Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, according to a report by Yahoo! Entertainment.

During her set, Schumer claimed that the “best way to comfort” everyone was to tell the jokes she was prohibited from telling at the Oscars — which included jokes about podcaster Joe Rogan and actor James Franco’s sexual misconduct allegations.

But one of the jokes Schumer says she wasn’t allowed to make involved actor Alec Baldwin holding the gun that fired, resulting in the death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins late last year.

The joke reportedly went something along the lines of, “Don’t Look Up is the name of a movie, more like don’t look down the barrel of [Baldwin’s] shotgun.” Schumer’s lawyer told her not to quip about that, she says.

“I wasn’t allowed to say any of that but you can just come up and [clock] someone,” the Oscars co-host said.

Schumer also described how Smith — who she called as “Ali” in reference to the actor’s role as late boxer Muhammad Ali in the 2001 film Ali — stormed the Oscars stage and slapped Rock over a “G.I. Jane” joke the comedian made about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

“All of a sudden Ali was making his way up,” Schumer said. “And it was just a fucking 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.”

***LANGUAGE WARNING***

Days after the assault, Schumer reacted to Smith attacking Rock, saying “the whole thing was so disturbing,” and that she was “triggered and traumatized” by the incident.

“Still triggered and traumatized,” Schumer said. “I love my friend [Chris Rock] 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.”

The Academy Awards also condemned Smith’s actions, declaring that it “does not condone violence in any form,” and later announced a formal investigation into the matter.

While many in Hollywood turned on Smith — referring to his onstage meltdown as a display of “toxic masculinity,” calling his excuses for hitting Rock “bullshit,” and noting that his behavior has likely set a “terrible precedent” for comedians on stage — others gave the actor a standing ovation.

After the battery, Hollywood elites stood and applauded Smith when he collected his Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Venus and Serena Williams’ father Richard Williams in King Richard.

Directors Jane Campion and Paul Thomas Anderson, Saturday Night Live alum Maya Rudolph, and actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Sophie Hunter, Javier Bardem, Timothée Chalamet, Jason Momoa, and Bradley Cooper were among some of the stars seen applauding Smith in the Dolby Theater at the Oscars.

After that, Smith appeared unbothered by the assault, as he was seen dancing the night away with fellow Hollywood elites at the Vanity Fair Oscars after party, where he told the Hollywood Reporter, “It’s been a beautiful night.”

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On Friday, Smith resigned from the Motion Picture Academy, stating, “I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct — my actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable.”

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

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