Oscars 2022: Wanda Sykes calls out Amy Schumer’s idea to have Zelensky speak from Ukraine during ceremony

Wanda Sykes called out Amy Schumer’s attempts to get Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to speak during the 2022 Oscars.

Last week, Schumer claimed that her request to have the president of Ukraine speak at the ceremony in the wake of Russia’s ongoing invasion of the country was rejected by producers.

However, Sykes, who co-presented this year’s ceremony with Schumer and Regina Hall, criticised the idea while walking the red carpet with her wife Alex Niedbalski.

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“I think he’s very busy right now,” Sykes told Variety. “We so admire him and I think what they’re showing – the resilience and the strength of the Ukrainian people... we love them, we support them. And I think we’re doing a great job sending them the weapons and everything that they need.”

Sykes continued: “You know, in Hollywood, we can get a little full of ourselves and we think that what we’re doing is all so important. I understand that, yeah, what we do reaches a lot people and we can persuade a lot of people, but it’s also [respectful] to just know your lane. You know what I’m saying? Know your lane.”

Schumer previously said that she thought it would be a good idea for Zelensky to speak at the ceremony “because there are so many eyes on the Oscars”.

The biggest moment of this year’s ceremony arrived when Will Smith hit Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Smith, who went on to win Best Actor for King Richard, broke down in tears during his speech, in whcih he shared what Washington had told him in the aftermath of the incident.

Following the altercation, a joke Rock made about Pinkett Smith at the 2016 Oscars resurfaced online.

Elsewhere, a joke Schumer made about Leonardo DiCaprio’s “girlfriends” drew gasps from the crowd.

Find the full list of 2022 Oscar winners here.