Wendy Williams is catching some heat for making comments about Joaquin Phoenix's cleft palate on a recent episode of her daytime television talk show, The Wendy Williams Show. This particular episode aired on Jan. 7 during Wendy's 'Hot Topics' segment where she came to Beyonce's defense for refusing to stand during the announcement of Phoenix's Golden Globes Best Actor Award acceptance speech.
In the segment, Williams jokingly teases Phoenix about his condition stating, "When he shaves off his mustache he’s got a hairline fracture,” she said. “He’s got one of those — what do you call it? Cleft lip, cleft palate."
Williams followed up her comment by hooking her finger over her top lip in order to imitate the somewhat common birth defect. Now, nearly a week later, fans and activists are making an uproar about Williams' taunting comments that affect children around the globe.
British celebrity, Carol Vorderman, 59, who also happens to be an ambassador for the Cleft Lip and Palate Association, Tweeted out her disdain for Williams’ comments saying, "I really am disgusted by this @wendywilliams.. Mimicking a cleft lip, and making a joke about it, is disgraceful. Have you any idea the pain and operations a child with cleft must go through as they grow?"
While the Joker star has never formally addressed his cleft lip scar, it's more than likely not an ailment for the award-winning actor who is currently celebrating the success as his role as one of Batman's nemeses. Check out the segment where Wendy Williams goes in on Joaquin Phoenix's cleft lip at the 11:15 mark in the video provided below.
Beyoncé Catches Flack For Not Standing When Joaquin Phoenix Won His Golden Globe
Not impressed or obstructive dress?
Beyoncé arrived fashionably late to the 2020 Golden Globes last night, alongside her husband, Jay-Z. They skipped out on the red carpet and walked in once the ceremony had already begun. Their bodyguard escorted them to their seats as he held two bottles of Ace of Spades champagne so they wouldn't have to drink the Moët & Chandon being poured at the event. They were seen mingling with the other celebs at their table, but many people on Twitter believe that Bey was indifferent toward the whole ordeal. She was there to pick up her gold statue if The Lion King's "Spirit" happened to win for Best Original Song (it didn't), and that was all.
The fact that she didn't stand up when Joaquin Phoenix won his award fueled this suspicion. When Phoenix won for Best Actor In a Drama Motion Picture for his role in Joker, the whole room rose, but Bey was seen comfortably seated. Some got a laugh from her head peaking out behind Phoenix when the camera showed him going to accept his trophy, but many others called her out for being disrespectful. One Twitter user claimed that her refusal to stand was "thoroughly distasteful." On the other hand, many came to Bey's defense and suggested that her dress may have made standing a difficult task for her. She wore a custom Schiaparelli Haute Couture gown with enormous metallic gold puffy sleeves that some argued could have been distracting or obstructive if she stood.
Read both sides of the debate below.