How are the Oscars preparing to avoid a repeat of Will Smith’s slap at 2023 ceremony?

The Oscars are the most prestigious Awards ceremony of the year but last year’s Academy Awards were somewhat tainted after Will Smith slapped the 2022 host Chris Rock live on stage.

The ‘King Richard’ actor won the Oscar last year for his role as Serena and Venus Williams’ father but despite this, he has been subsequently banned for a decade from all Academy events, including the Oscars, for his reaction to a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head which she had shaved following an alopecia diagnosis.

Not only did Will Smith face backlash for his actions, but also the Academy came under fire for their slow response in dealing with the altercation that happened live on television.

Will remained at the ceremony to pick up his Oscar for King Richard, and although he resigned from the Academy, it took several days for the organisation to make a decision about what to do next with his membership.

In light of this, a newly-created ‘crisis team’ will be introduced to this year’s Oscars to handle any real-time incidents.

Bill Kramer, the Academy’s chief executive, told Time magazine: “Because of last year, we’ve opened our minds to the many things that can happen at the Oscars. [We] are now quicker to react.”

Bill also explained that the team had run through many scenarios that could arise at the 2023 ceremony in the hope that they will be able to face anything.

"Let's hope something doesn't happen and we never have to use these [plans], but we already have frameworks in place that we can modify,” Bill added.

In addition to having a crisis team in place, Bill is hoping that having Jimmy Kimmel as the host this year will also be an asset due to his extensive experience with live TV.

Jimmy helped to redirect the Oscars back in 2017 when La La Land was falsely announced as best picture, and Bill believes the audience ‘feel very safe’ with the late-night show host.

The 2023 Oscars take place on March 12