This is how 2023's Oscars is going to address Will Smith's infamous slap

The 95th Academy Awards are almost upon us, and the organisers will be hoping it goes a little smoother this time around.

You may recall Will Smith slapping Chris Rock across the chops at last year's Oscars, sparking seemingly never ending headlines across the globe.

To refresh your memory, the shocking moment occurred while the King Richard star was sitting in the audience at the 2022 Academy Awards with his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith.

Rock, who was hosting, made a G.I. Jane joke about Jada, a comment that referenced her bald head.

The joke enraged Smith, who was seen shouting 'keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth'.

He then walked up to the stage and slapped Rock around the face.

Though the awards ceremony carried on - with Smith even winning the Best Actor award - he later faced the repercussions.

Naturally, the organisers have had to plan how best to approach the incident at this year's ceremony, and while it may be tempting to ignore it completely, they've thought better of it.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday (Wednesday, 8 March), the creative team offered up an insight into what we can expect from the show at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday (12 March).

According to Variety, executive producer Molly McNearney said: "We're going to acknowledge it, and then we're gonna move on.

REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo

"We don't want to make this year about last year. It's certainly something we can and will address in a comedic fashion."

Showrunner Ricky Kirshner also indicated that it will have a different feel to previous years, with the show 'honoring the crafts and what it takes to make a movie'.

He explained: "There's no more, 'This is what we used to do'.

"We've rethought the show and we've got presenters that make sense for the categories.

"Most people see just the actors in front of the camera, but as you know, there are hundreds of people that make movies and a lot of people across the country don't know what it takes, but we're going to show that."

It was also previously revealed that they've got a crisis team on standby this time around in case any slap-like situations go down.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer told TIME Magazine: "We have a whole crisis team, something we’ve never had before, and many plans in place. 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."

He added: "Because of [the slap] last year, we've opened our minds to the many things that can happen at the Oscars.

"But these crisis plans - the crisis communication teams and structures we have in place - allow us to say this is the group that we have to gather very quickly."

Another key difference this year is that Smith won't be there, as he was handed a 10-year ban following the slap.

Topics: Oscars, Will Smith, US News, Film and TV, Chris Rock, Celebrity

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey