Every Time Will Smith's Slap Was Referenced at the Oscars 2023

Kristyn Burtt

March 13, 2023 at 10:26 AM·2 min read

It’s been almost a year since that slap heard ’round the world ignited social media with discussions about what the heck happened on that Oscars stage. It would lead to Will Smith being banned from the show for 10 years and Chris Rock would go on to perform a live comedy special about that moment for Netflix.

As for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, they’ve formed a crisis team to deal with any unexpected moments like a slap or a wrong Best Picture name called. It’s hard to believe it took them until 2023 to have a plan in place, but here we are. While many celebrities are just plain tired of the topic, there are going to be a few references throughout the 2023 Academy Awards. You know Jimmy Kimmel wasn’t going to miss the opportunity.

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The evening’s host hit the topic right in the head in his monologue, setting the tone of the event. “We want you to have fun. We want you to feel safe. And most importantly, we want me to feel safe,” Kimmel explained. “So we have strict policies in place. If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and be permitted to give an 18-minute-long speech.”

Of course, it didn’t end there. Kimmel added, “Seriously, the Academy has a crisis team in place. If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year — nothing. Maybe even give the assailant a hug.” It was the perfect way to humorously point out that the Academy really had no plan last year and just let the slap hang over the night — it was weird — and Kimmel wasn’t going to let that slide.

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If that wasn’t enough, he roasted the Irish cast from The Banshees of Inisherin, joking, “Five Irish actors are nominated tonight, which means the odds of another fight on stage just went way up.” He then suggested a few of the characters played by actors in the audience (hello, Andrew Garfield/Spider-Man) who might rush to his side “if [anyone wants] to come up here and get jiggy with it.” And with a slightly stern reminder, Kimmel summed up, “We have no time for shenanigans. This is a celebration of everyone here.”

As he said, slaps are so 2022.

Before you go, click here to see more of the most shocking Oscars moments.