Wendy Williams Apologizes for Mocking Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘Cleft Palate’ Scar, Cher Not Having It

Categories Celebrity

Wendy Williams usually doesn’t back down from her inflammatory and incendiary commentary on her talk show, and for a week she stayed silent after an insensitive moment while discussing Joaquin Phoenix where she tried to mimic a cleft palate by pulling her lip up with her finger while her audience laughed.

But on Wednesday night, after an onslaught from social media, including an explosive attack by Cher, the talk show host has apologized for her insensitive gesture and gone so far as to make donations to organizations that help children with cleft palates.

Cher was among the many, many voices outraged on social media after Williams physically mocked the appearance of a cleft lip during a segment where she talked about how attractive she found the “Joker” star.

“When he shaves off his mustache he’s got a hairline fracture,” she said of Phoenix. “He’s got one of those — what do you call it? cleft lip, cleft palate.”

Notably, Phoenix has never admitted to having this condition. While he does bear a similar scar to many who’ve had their cleft lip surgically closed, his is reportedly not related to a cleft palate at all, but simply a facial scar he was born with.

Regardless, it was Williams’ mocking the condition by contorting her lip that many saw as incredibly insensitive. And despite her subsequent apology, Cher is having none of it.

The iconic singer and actress tore into Williams again after her apology, detailing the struggles and pain that both children and parents go through when dealing with facial conditions like these.

Earlier in the night, Cher went off on Williams about the pain and challenges these kids and their families must endure throughout their childhood, often including multiple facial surgeries in an attempt to “look normal.”

She gained a greater appreciation and sympathy for the plight of kids with serious facial conditions after her Golden Globe-nominated performance in “Mask,” based on the true story of a boy with a rare disfiguring facial condition.

And Cher wasn’t alone in her ire, with Williams specifically referencing Candian Football linebacker Adam Bighill in her apology. He apparently got her attention after a five-day barrage of tweets when he called her out as promoting bullying with her comments, even as his own son was going in for surgery to get his lip repaired.

Unlike Cher, though, Bighill accepted Williams apology, and thanked her for her donation. “I forgive you, and I encourage others to as well,” he wrote in his tweet. “I wish you all the best.”

Williams’ apology promoted two charitable causes related to cleft palate and encouraged her viewers to learn more as well, even as it came a week after the segment aired.

Certainly, Bighill’s pointed comments (he’s been posting about it every day since the 10th), complete with a picture of his adorable son, was a poignant reminder that these are real people and their real lives that can be impacted by the insensitivity of her behavior.

Williams is usually apologetically off-color and over-the-top on her show, but it’s nice to see that there are times she does look back, reflect and reconsider the appropriateness of her choices and, most importantly, is willing to acknowledge that she crossed a line and can learn and grow from it.

Below are some of the reactions that have been coming in a constant stream since that segment aired last week before reaching critical mass on Wednesday:

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