Wendy Williams Apologises for Commenting on Joaquin Phoenix's Lips, Activists Remind Her It's a Medical Condition

TV show host Wendy Williams recently received flak from parents and activists for mocking those with cleft lips. Wendy said that she found Joker actor Joaquin Phoenix "oddly attractive" for the scar on his lip, while making a reference to the birth condition of cleft lip. She has since then apologised for the same.

Talking about the Oscar nominee actor Joaquin, Wendy had said, "When he shaves off his mustache, he's got a hairline fracture. He's got one of those, what do you call it, cleft lip, cleft palate." She then pulled her top lip up over her teeth to demonstrate the look of a cleft.

Several activists and parents including Canadian football player Adam Bighill whose little son Beau is undergoing treatment for his cleft lip demanded that the host apologise for her comment and action.

On Wednesday, Adam even tweeted a photo of him holding his son Beau, who had a surgery for cleft lip scheduled that day. "Today is Beau’s big day. He is getting his lip repaired today in Winnipeg by the fantastic Dr. Ross. Thanks to everyone who has reached out, and in advance, thanks for any of your well wishes for Beau. He is so loved! #cleftstrong #1in700 #cleftcutie," he wrote.

To this, Williams responded, "@Bighill44 We're thinking about Beau today as he is in surgery."

"I want to apologize to the cleft community and in Beau's honor, our show is donating to @operationsmile and @AmerCleftPalate and encourage our Wendy Watchers to learn more and help support the cleft community," she wrote.

The football player responded, tweeting, "Thank you @WendyWilliams for your apology, your donation, and for thinking of Beau today for his surgery. I forgive you, and I encourage others to as well. I wish you all the best."

According to Vanity Fair, Joaquin's scar is "not a surgically fixed cleft, he says, but a nonsurgical scar he was born with."

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