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Topics: Film and TV, Oscars, Academy Awards, Will Smith
Ali Condon
Topics: Film and TV, Oscars, Academy Awards, Will Smith
Well, it's almost time for the 2023 Oscars, and people still aren't over last year's drama.
There were lots of phenomenal films nominated this year, the outfits will no doubt be headline-worthy, and Rihanna is going to perform for the second time in seven years... but remember when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock?!
That's exactly what the Academy don't want to happen this year.
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They're so concerned about it that they've put a 'crisis team' together to respond to any unexpected incidents that might go down.
So, this year's host, Jimmy Kimmel will be able to rest easy in the build-up to the big night, knowing that his cheeks will remain unslapped.
What'll also probably help put Jimmy and the Academy's mind at ease is the fact that Will Smith will be out of sight. And it's not just because he isn't nominated for anything this season.
In fact, after the infamous Chris Rock slap, Will was handed a ten-year ban from The Academy.
Shortly after last year's awards, Will announced his official resignation from the Academy, but they decided to do him one better.
Announcing Will's ten-year ban last April, the Academy said in a statement: "The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year.
"However, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behaviour we saw Mr Smith exhibit on stage."
Will had slapped Chris Rock after Rock joked about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's appearance.
He compared the actor, who suffers from alopecia and had shaved her head, to G.I Jane.
There was reportedly a lot of debate over how best to handle the fallout but, even after Will issued a public apology to both Rock and the Academy, they ultimately decided to keep the Hitch actor at arm's length for at the next ten years.
So, there's no chance you'll be catching him at the Oscars again until 2032 at the very earliest.
Will is now a member of a very unfortunate group of men who have been banned from attending Academy events.
Others include Harvey Weinstein, who was banned back in 2017 following a pile-on of sexual assault and rape allegations against the producer and Roman Polanski, who was banned in 2018 - 40 years after he was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl.
Also banned are Bill Cosby, who was convicted of three counts of aggravated indecent assault back in 2018, and Carmine Caridi, who was kicked out back in 2004 when he was caught sharing 'screener' copies of the nominated films that were then bootlegged.
Not the coolest club to be a part of.