Jimmy Kimmel has warned that anyone planning to recreate Will Smith’s infamous Oscars slap at this year’s ceremony will get “beat[en] the s**t out of”.
On Sunday, late night talk show host Kimmel will host the 2023 Academy Awards, held at the Dolby Theatre in LA, and has issued the stark warning.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the comedian was asked what he would do if there was “another slap”.
“You mean, if somebody comes up on the stage and slaps me? Well, I size them up, and, if I’m bigger than they are, I beat the s*** out of them on television,” he replied.
“And if it’s the Rock, I run.”
Last year’s ceremony was marred by controversy as Smith stormed on stage to slap comedian Chris Rock after he made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head.
Show bosses are said to have put a “crisis team" in place in case similar incidents occur this year.
However, Kimmel, 55, said he does not know what the crisis committee entails of.
“I wish I knew," he said. “I’ve not been involved in that. I guess I’m the last thing they’re worried about.
“I feel like I should at least know what was discussed so I know what I should fear when I walk onstage. But, really, I suspect it mostly has to do with UFOs."
Last year’s incident left Hollywood reeling and led to a serious fall from grace for Smith.
He resigned from the Academy and was later banned from all of the organisation’s events for 10 years.
Rock finally addressed the incident for the first time over the weekend, in his new Netflix stand-up show – Chris Rock: Selective Outrage.
Not mincing his words, a seemingly angry Rock said: “I did some jokes about her [Pinkett Smith]. Who gives a f**k? That’s how it is: She starts it, I finish it," he told the audience.
“That’s what the f**k happened. Nobody’s picking on this b***h. She started this s**t. Nobody was picking on her... And then this n**** gives me a concussion!
“I love Will Smith… he makes great movies. I rooted for Will Smith my whole life. And now, I watched Emancipation just so I could watch him get whooped.”
Addressing the slap, he added: “Everybody f***ing knows. Yes, it happened, like a year ago, I got smacked at the f***ing Oscars by this motherf***er.”
