• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
The Oscars now has a ‘crisis team’ to respond to any unexpected incident at this year’s awards

Home> News

Published 02:13 23 Feb 2023 GMT

The Oscars now has a ‘crisis team’ to respond to any unexpected incident at this year’s awards

The glitzy event will be hoping to avoid another Will Smith slap moment.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

The Academy Awards has developed a 'crisis team' for this year's awards to prevent another Will Smith slap moment.

The world was utterly blown away last year when the actor yelled at host Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

It certainly was an unexpected deviation from regular programming, but what happened next sparked headlines for months.

Advert

Will decided yelling at Chris wasn't enough and hopped onto the stage to slap the comedian square across the face.

Moments later, he was back on the stage accepting the award for Best Actor.

It truly was a mind-blowing few minutes at the 2022 Academy Awards.

Advert

But, if you were hoping for something similarly explosive this year, think again.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer told TIME Magazine they have been proactive this time round.

“We have a whole crisis team, something we’ve never had before, and many plans in place,” Kramer said. “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.”

Advert

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."

Will Smith slaps Chris Rock on stage during the 94th Academy Awards.
REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo

The crisis team will consist of people who will be able to 'come together' and work quickly to resolve or address anything that's not on the script.

Advert

"Obviously depending on the specifics of the crisis, and let’s hope something doesn’t happen and we never have to use these, but we already have frameworks in place that we can modify," Kramer said.

The slap moment last year saw Will Smith resign from the Academy and he's now been banned from attending the Oscars gala and other Academy events for 10 years.

He admitted in an apology video to Chris Rock that violence is never the answer.

"Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally," he said.

Advert

"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. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness."

Featured Image Credit: Doug Peters / Alamy Stock Photo. REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: Will Smith, Oscars, Academy Awards

Stewart Perrie
Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Senior Journalist at LADbible. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign. He is in charge of the LADbible Australia editorial content and social presence.

X

@stewartperrie

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

7 hours ago
9 hours ago
11 hours ago
  • 7 hours ago

    Diddy denied bail after being found guilty on 2 out of 5 counts in sex trafficking and prostitution case

    Diddy has been denied bail after being found guilty on two of five charges he was facing

    News
  • 9 hours ago

    Donald Trump makes shocking threat he wants to deport US citizens and people are stunned

    Donald Trump has made a threat to deport US citizens following the opening of a migrant centre in Florida

    News
  • 11 hours ago

    Bryan Kohberger speaks for first time in court admitting to how he brutally murdered four Idaho students

    The Idaho murder suspect has spoken out following the brutal murders of four students in 2022

    News
  • 11 hours ago

    Former prosecutor explains why Diddy was found not guilty on 3 out of 5 counts in sex trafficking and prostitution case

    A legal expert has shared his thoughts about why Sean 'Diddy' Combs has been found not guilty of three counts

    News
  • Demi Moore shares message to Mikey Madison as she breaks silence on Oscars loss
  • Will Smith won't be at the Oscars until 2032 at the earliest
  • Jada Pinkett Smith was shocked Will Smith called her 'wife' as he slapped Chris Rock at Oscars
  • Will Smith's Mum Reacts To Chris Rock Oscars Slap