The Academy will implement a squad of response professionals to prevent another Will Smith/Chris Rock Oscar’s slap.
According to TIME, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer spoke about the new “crisis team” that will be on site for the upcoming Academy Awards scheduled, for March 12.
Kramer expressed that the 2022 Oscars incident involving Rock and Smith prompted their decision to invest in a team that could plan and remedy future fiascos.
“We have a whole crisis team, something we’ve never had before, and many plans in place,” the CEO expressed. “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.”
Bill continued, speaking about the plans created to ensure nothing happens and to nullify issues if they arise.
“This is how we all come together. This is the spokesperson. This will be the statement,” Kramer continued. “And 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.”
The Oscars’ new crisis prevention squad arrives almost a year after Smith, 54, attacked Rock, 58, for making fun of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
In what became known as “slapgate,” Smith’s slap, heard worldwide, sent ripples through the entertainment industry. As a punishment, the Academy banned the multi-hyphenate from attending any Academy-related events for a decade.