Jimmy Kimmel Pokes Fun at Will Smith Slap at the 2023 Oscars: ‘It’s Not Going to be Easy’ to ‘Get Jiggy With It’

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The elephant in the room. It’s been one year since Will Smith infamously slapped Chris Rock at the Academy Awards, but the incident’s aftermath was very much present at the 2023 Oscars.Host Jimmy Kimmel kicked off the show — which was held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles — by stating that while he wants the nominees to “have fun [and] feel safe,” he jokingly added, “most importantly, we want me to feel safe.”Noting that there are “strict policies in place” this year, the late-night host, 55, continued: “If anyone in this theatre commit an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for Best Actor and permitted to give a 19-minute long speech.

But seriously, The Academy has a crisis team in place. If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the show, sit there and do absolutely nothing.

Maybe even give the assailant a hug.”Referencing Smith’s song “Get Jiggy With It,” Kimmel added that if any celebs “get made at a joke and decide you want to get jiggy with it — it’s not going to be easy,” before pointing out that actors such as Michael B.

Jordan, Andrew Garfield and Michelle Yeoh will protect him.While introducing Best Documentary Feature presenters Riz Ahmed and Questlove later in the show, the host noted that the category was the one Rock, 58, was on stage to present before the slap in 2022. “Hopefully, this time it goes off without a hitch, or at least without Hitch,” Kimmel joked, referencing Smith’s 2005 rom-com Hitch, in which he played the titular matchmaker.Kimmel addressed the slap a third time while joking about the show’s long runtime, asking the crowd, “This point in the show kinda makes you miss the slapping, right?”The 54-year-old Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum, for