Oscars 2023: Organisers Have Crisis Team On Standby After Will Smith's Slap Incident
The Oscars organisers this year have assembled a "crisis team" to make sure that nothing unexpected — like Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during the 2022 ceremony — happens.
Speaking to Time magazine, Bill Kramer, the chief executive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) , has revealed how the organisation has "opened our minds" to many things that can happen at the spectacle following Smith's on-stage outburst, and as a result, they have developed "crisis plans" before this year's event on March 12.
When asked if there are any measures being put in place this year for potential surprises, Kramer replied: "Absolutely. And that’s why you want someone like Jimmy [Kimmel] on stage who is used to dealing with live TV: Things don’t always go as planned. So you have a host in place who can really pivot and manage those moments.
"But 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.
"Because of 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. This is how we all come together. This is the spokesperson. This will be the statement."
But Kramer hopes the crisis team will "never have to be used".
"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," he said.
Last week, Janet Yang, AMPAS president Janet Yang admitted the Oscars' response to Smith's slap — in which the King Richard star hit the comedian after he joked about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith's alopecia at last year's ceremony — was "inadequate".
Speaking at the 2023 Oscars Nominees Luncheon, Yang said: "I’m sure you all remember we experienced an unprecedented event at the Oscars.
"What happened onstage was fully unacceptable and the response from our organisation was inadequate.
"We learned from this that the Academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions, and particularly in times of crisis you must act swiftly, compassionately and decisively for ourselves and for our industry. You should and can expect no less from us going forward."
Following the incident, Smith resigned from the Academy and was banned from the Oscars for 10 years.
Smith recently shared a TikTok post of himself poking fun at his Oscars slap fallout.
In the clip, Smith is seen watching a TikTok user who claims that life can be more “interesting and fun” if people ask inanimate objects how they feel about them.
“It sounds insane, but it will change your life,” the TikToker begins as Smith watches on.
“Did you know that you can pick any object, look at it, and ask it what it thinks of you?
“So, for example, you can pick up a pen and ask it how it sees you or what it thinks of you, and you will get an answer in your mind from your intuition.”
Smith then looked at something off-camera — his Best Actor Oscar statuette. The clip ended with him looking at the gong quizzically, seemingly about to take the TikToker's advice and ask it what it thought of him.
Judging from comments, fans seem to get a kick from Smith's self-deprecating video. But seriously, shouldn't Smith be asking Rock that question? Maybe Rock will address the Slapgate in his live Netflix comedy show, Selective Outrage, on March 5.
Mediacorp will livestream the 95th Academy Awards on meWATCH and Channel 5 on Mar 13, starting from 6.30am SGT; the main show kicks off at 8am. — BANG SHOWBIZ
Photo: TPG News/Click Photos
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