*Wendy Williams landed in hot water this week after she seemed to mock Joaquin Phoenix’s cleft lip surgery scar.
In response to the hate she’s receiving online, the daytime host announced that “The Wendy Williams Show” will be donating to both Operation Smile and the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association.
Williams is donating to the organizations in support of folks born with cleft lips or palates after she was slammed for comments she made about Phoenix on her show last week, PEOPLE reports.
While discussing the Golden Globes during the Jan. 7 episode, Williams said she finds the actor “oddly attractive.”
“He played that Johnny Cash. It wasn’t Reese [Witherspoon] who kept me, it was him,” she said, referring to Phoenix’s performance in “Walk the Line.”
Watch her tell it via the clip below.
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For a solid 10 seconds she used her finger to mimic a cleft lip while the audience laughed. Imagine how my 5 year old would take it if he saw it? @WendyWilliams
I only speak on it bc I’m personally informed and educated on the topic. #bebetter Do work Twitter pic.twitter.com/whfBbCVZE4
— Matt Groark (@groarkboysbbq) January 8, 2020
“He knows how to transform, when he shaves [his beard] off, the way he looks at you,” Williams continued. “And he’s got the good nose that dips way down, like he’s happy with it and so am I.”
“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,” Williams continued, using her hand to pull up her own lip. “He’s got this.”
“I find it to be very attractive,” she said, still holding up her own lip above her teeth.
Williams caught heat for her demonstration, including from Canadian football player Adam Bighill, who demanded she apologize and make donation to anti-bullying campaigns.
Bighill revealed on Twitter Wednesday that his own son (Beau) had his lip repaired.
In a since-deleted tweet he wrote, “Waiting for an apology and donation from @WendyWilliams and since we are still waiting, this campaign has gone viral. This campaign/message is all centered around one thing we all agree on, bullying is awful. Thank you all for being a part of the difference #end bullying”
Williams responded to Bighill on Twitter Wednesday in an apology “to the cleft community,” noting that her talk show donated to both Operation Smile and the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association in Beau’s honor.
“@Bighill44 We’re thinking about Beau today as he is in surgery,” Williams wrote. “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.”
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