The Oscars are returning almost exactly a year after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage, and it seems like everyone is waiting to see if this year’s awards ceremony will have any of its own surprises to offer.
In a Thursday (March 2) interview with People, host Jimmy Kimmel opened up about how he’s prepping to lead the show for the third time on March 12. The last time Kimmel hosted the Oscars it didn’t necessarily go according to plan – La La Land was incorrectly given the award for best picture instead of Moonlight.
But Rock seemed to have even worse luck when he presented at the Oscars in 2022. After the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s appearance, Smith got up on stage and slapped him. The incident may have changed the Academy Awards – and both actors’ legacies – forever.
“To see something like that happen outside of like The Maury Povich Show is shocking,” Kimmel told People. “And then for it to happen on the Oscars magnifies it by about a million times.”
The late night talk show host said he checked in with Rock after the incident, explaining, “I mean, to be slapped in the face and to stay that cool is something that Chris should be proud of. Chris’s grandchildren, I hope, will still be proud of that when he’s dead and gone.”
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When asked about the upcoming Oscars, Kimmel says, “I like to go in 75 percent prepared and leave some room for improvisation and reacting to the show as it’s happening.”
Luckily, he won’t have to worry too much about any unwanted surprises because the Academy has since created a “crisis team” following Slapgate.
Bill Kramer, CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, told TIME last month, “That’s why you want someone like Jimmy on stage who is used to dealing with live TV: Things don’t always go as planned. So you have a host in place who can really pivot and manage those moments.”
Let’s hope this year’s Oscar Awards go off without a hitch.
The 2023 Oscars air March 12 at 8/7c on ABC.
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