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We have ‘a crisis team in place:’ Jimmy Kimmel addresses Will Smith’s slap in Oscars opening monologue

"If any of you get mad at a joke and decide you want to come up here and get jiggy with it, it's not gonna be easy."

Host Jimmy Kimmel addressed Will Smith's decision last year to slap host Chris Rock during the 95th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

By Susannah Sudborough

1 minute to read

After an unforgettable Oscars moment last year, this year’s host, Jimmy Kimmel, was sure to address “the slap.” At the 2022 ceremony, Will Smith slapped host Chris Rock over a joke Rock made about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Kimmel addressed the conflict with both seriousness and humor during his opening monologue of the 95th Academy Awards, letting people know that the Academy was prepared for another incident while also making jokes to break the tension.

“We want you to have fun. We want you to feel safe. And most importantly, we want me to feel safe,” he began, lightheartedly.

Kimmel continued riffing, saying that if anyone commits an act of violence this year, they’ll automatically win the Oscar for best actor and be allowed to give a 19-minute Oscar speech, the former of which Smith did last year.

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“If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year — nothing,” he continued.

Kimmel finished off the bit by listing off a number of formidable actors and actresses anyone who wants to punch him would need to “get through first,” including Pedro Pascal, the Mandalorian himself, and Adonis Creed actor Michael B. Jordan.

“If any of you get mad at a joke and decide you want to come up here and get jiggy with it, it’s not gonna be easy,” Kimmel joked, referencing Smith’s hit song “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It.”

Watch the clip below:

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