Oscars appoint first ‘crisis team’ to handle moments like Will Smith slap
The Oscars CEO revealed the awards show has organized its first "crisis team" so they're better equipped for incidents like last year's infamous Will Smith-Chris Rock slap.
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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences bigwigs don’t want another Will-Smith-gets-on-stage-and-slaps-Chris-Rock-on-live-TV situation to go down ever again. So, for the first time, they’ve appointed a “crisis team” to Hollywood’s biggest night.
“Because of last year, we’ve opened our minds to the many things that can happen at the Oscars,” the academy’s CEO Bill Kramer told Time. “Our hope is 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.”
Last year at the Oscars, the night of awards and accolades was overshadowed by an altercation between Rock, who was hosting, and Smith. Smith walked onto the stage and slapped Rock after he made a joke about his wife’s shaved head; Jada Pinkett Smith has publicly shared her experience with alopecia — an autoimmune disease that can lead to hair loss.
Smith later won his first Oscar, for best actor in King Richard, but that moment was also eclipsed by the slap. Smith later apologized, but the academy held firm on a 10-year ban on Smith attending the Oscars.
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Kramer said last year’s chain of events showed his team how quickly things can take a turn at a live event.
“We have a whole crisis team, something we’ve never had before, and many plans in place,” he said. “We’ve run many scenarios.”
The Oscars will take place on March 12, with Jimmy Kimmel returning as host for the third time.
Kramer said Kimmel’s experience with live TV makes him a natural fit.
“Things don’t always go as planned,” he said. “So you have a host in place who can really pivot and manage those moments.”
The CEO added that while the team can’t predict what will happen, there’s a framework in place to react however needed, with a spokesperson and people to write a statement on standby.
“Let’s hope something doesn’t happen and we never have to use these,” Kramer said. “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.”