- Jimmy Kimmel joked that anyone who commits an act of violence at the Oscars will win best actor.
- "If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point in the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor," he said.
Jimmy Kimmel made fun of Will Smith at the 2023 Oscars by joking that anyone who commits an act of violence will take home the best actor award.
"We know this is a special night for you, we want you to feel safe, and most importantly we want me to feel safe. So we have strict policies in place. If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point in the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute long speech," Kimmel said.
He continued: "No, but seriously, the academy has a crisis team in place, if anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year: nothing. Sit there and do absolutely nothing. Maybe even give the assailant a hug. And if any of you get mad and get jiggy with it, and decide you want to come up here, it's not going to be easy."
Kimmel then proceeded to point to his various friends in the audience, including Pedro Pascal, Michelle Yeoh, Michael B. Jordan, and Andrew Garfield, who played Spider-Man, and jokingly, Steven Spielberg, who made "The Fabelmans."
—Variety (@Variety) March 13, 2023
Then later on, while Kimmel came back onstage to check in with the audience and let them know there are still a lot of awards to give out, he said: "This point of the show kind of makes you miss the slapping a little, right?"
Kimmel's jokes were a reference to the now infamous moment at the 2022 Oscars when Will Smith walked up on stage and slapped Chris Rock in the face after Rock made a joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett-Smith's alopecia.
Following that, Smith went on to win best actor that night for his starring role in "King Richard."
Smith then was seen at an after-party dancing to his hit 1997 song "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It."
Smith was later banned from the Academy Awards for 10 years.
Rock most recently spoke about the slap for eight minutes during his Netflix special, "Selective Outrage."
As he wrapped up, Rock addressed why he didn't hit Smith back: "A lot people go, 'Chris how come you didn't do nothing back? How come you didn't do nothing back that night?' Because I got parents, that's why. Because I was raised."
He then added before dropping his mic, "And you know what my parents taught me? Don't fight in front of white people."