The Oscars have always been a night full of surprises. Last year’s bombshell moment at the Academy Awards came when Will Smith stormed the stage and slapped Chris Rock in front of the whole world. While no one can predict what this year has in store for us, a pre-Oscars surprise is already making headlines.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has introduced a “crisis team” for this year’s Oscars, and the world is already puzzled as to what this could mean. Here’s what we know.
For the first time in the history of the Oscars, a “crisis team” is being introduced at the 95th Academy Awards.
The Oscars CEO talks to Time magazine about the crisis team as “something we’ve never had before” so that “we will be prepared for anything that we may not anticipate….. in case it does happen.”
Last year, Chris Rock was presenting an award at the 94th Academy Awards when he joked about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and her shaved head.
Jada publicly shared her battle with alopecia areata, resulting in her hair loss. So naturally, when Chris Rock joked about it, it didn’t sit well with her husband.
Not liking a joke is one thing, but slapping a comedian for just doing what he knows best was uncalled for. Not only did it pass all the limits of unprofessionalism, but it also ruined the night for other stars in attendance and viewers watching the show.
Like this discourteous behavior wasn’t enough, Smith returned to his seat and continued to swear at Rock.
The whole world took to their respective platforms to express their disgust at Smith’s unpleasant behavior.
As if the night couldn’t get worse, Smith even won the Best Actor Award for his role in King Richard, a moment that had the world pointing fingers at the Oscars committee. To make matters worse than they already were, in Will's emotional acceptance speech, he apologized to everyone else except Chris and justified his actions by saying, "Love makes you do crazy things."
Smith apologized to Chris Rock twice. The first was in an Instagram post posted on March 29th, where he condemned violence in all its forms and said jokes at the expense of Jada's condition were too much for him to let slide. On apologizing to the Madagascar star, the Fresh Prince wrote, "I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be."
The second apology came months later when he posted a video to Instagram to answer some questions surrounding the unbelievable event.
In response to Will Smith stepping out of line at the Oscars, The Academy banished the actor from attending any future Academy Awards for the next 10 years.
Considering the bizarre moment that took place last year, many fans are wondering about the Rock's whereabouts at this year's Oscars. However, Daily Beast reported that Rock won't be attending the 2023 ceremony.
Kramer mentioned that the newly instituted crisis team has “many plans in place,” so in case something happens, crisis plans can be modified according to the “specifics of the crisis.” Chris Rock on the other hand has also seemingly disappeared since then.
Glenn Weiss, who will executive produce the 95th Academy Awards, tells ET, “you have to be ready for what may transpire with what you didn’t plan,” and is all set to welcome the unknown.
Jimmy Kimmel, who has previously hosted several Academy Awards, is all set to take the stage this year as well.
Having a live talk show of his own and hosting several other award shows, Kimmel is someone who can handle live situations comfortably.
His rich experience of handling live television has been lauded by the Oscar’s CEO, Bill Cramer, “it’s so important to have a host who knows how to handle a live audience,” continuing to state that that's a "specific skill" that a lot of people can't, "do that well."
In his first promo for the 95th Academy Awards, Kimmel jokes about being "unslappable," as he prepares for his new role.
No reports clarify Chris Rock's whereabouts for this year's Oscars.
The red carpet will be rolled out on March 13, and our favorite celebs are all ready to dazzle on the big night. As for us, we’ll keep our ears out for any more controversies for our readers!
