Los Angeles [US], February 23: Following the slap incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock, the Oscars have added a 'crisis team' to their 2023 show.
Swati Bhat
The crisis team was formed in response to Will Smith's infamous walk on stage and slap on presenter Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. According to Variety, Academy President Janet Yang previously stated that the organization's response to the incident was inadequate.
Kramer, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, told Time magazine, "We have a full crisis team, which we have never had before, and numerous plans in place. We've run a number of scenarios. So we're hoping to be ready for anything that we don't expect to happen right now but are planning for just in case it does."
'Because of last year, we've opened our minds to the many possibilities at the Oscars,' he added. 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 connect. This is the representative. This will be the declaration.' And obviously, depending on the specifics of the crisis, and let's hope nothing happens and we never have to use these, but we already have frameworks in place that can be modified."
Smith slapped Rock during the best documentary feature category presentation at the 2022 Oscars. Rock made a controversial joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's bald head, which she shaved after being diagnosed with alopecia. Smith returned to his seat after the slap and screamed at Rock repeatedly. Later that night, the Academy issued a statement saying it "does not condone violence in any form," and Smith apologised the following day. Smith resigned from the Academy as well.