TV-MOVIES

Amy Schumer's Joke Eases The Tension After Will Smith's Slap

By CAROLYN JENKINS

In a shocking moment during this year’s Academy Awards, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage following a joke Rock made about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss. Viewers and attendees had strong reactions to the incident, but one of the more graceful, lighthearted responses came from co-host Amy Schumer.

Earlier in the show, Schumer and co-hosts Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall did a segment dressed as their favorite characters, with Schumer dressed as Spider-Man. After Smith and Rock’s altercation, Schumer returned to the room and said, “I've been getting out of that Spider-Man costume, did I miss anything? There's like a different vibe in here.”

Schumer’s initial quip got the audience laughing, and she moved on to a bit where she stole the seat of Best Supporting Actress nominee Kirsten Dunst to talk to Dunst’s partner, Jesse Plemons, also a nominee. As a stand-up comic, Schumer likely knows how to handle a rough crowd.

Will Smith’s soon-to-be-infamous slap may have changed the show for the rest of the night, but Schumer did her best to lighten the mood, while not giving the event more attention than it had already stolen. NPR television critic Eric Deggans even tweeted, “Amy Schumer with the line of the night.”