Oscars president reveals how they will prevent another Will Smith slap in 2023

nypost.com:

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the live broadcast last year.During the ceremony, a “crisis team” will be poised to intervene should anything unanticipated occur, Bill Kramer, the CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, told Time last month.“We have a whole crisis team, something we’ve never had before, and many plans in place,” he said. “We’ve run many scenarios.

So it is our hope that we will be prepared for anything that we may not anticipate right now but that we’re planning for just in case it does happen.”Jimmy Kimmel, who will be this year’s Oscars host, is vital to the ceremony’s success, Kramer added, applauding the late-night host’s ability to deal “with live TV” because “things don’t always go as planned.”“So you have a host in place who can really pivot and manage those moments,” Kramer said.Kimmel, preparing to step into the role as host, jokingly threatened to “beat the s–t” out of anyone who attempts to slap him on stage.“If somebody comes up on the stage and slaps me?” Kimmel, 55, began in his interview with the Hollywood Reporter this week. “Well, I size them up, and, if I’m bigger than they are, I beat the s–t out of them on television.

And if it’s the Rock, I run.”However, the comedian admitted the buzz around the slap has run its course – in his opinion, it’s “almost boring to joke about at this point.”“Well, whatever I say about it, it’s going to have to be great, right?” he said, hinting at his opening monologue. “Because so much has been said and there’s so much focus on it.