During his third stint of hosting the Academy Awards, Jimmy Kimmel came fully prepared for the occasion. After his epic entry at the Dolby Theatre stage, the comedian didn’t fail from bringing several hot topics surrounding the Oscars into the spotlight, including the infamous Will Smith slap-gate incident.
After taking light-hearted jabs at several celebrities, including Nicole Kidman’s AMC commercial and Tom Cruise’s scientology. The comedian also started pulling punches at Will Smith by recalling the controversial moment from the 94th Academy Awards, where he slapped Chris Rock over a joke.
Jimmy Kimmel blasted Will Smith during his opening monologue at the Oscars
Following his opening monologue at the 95th Academy Awards, Jimmy Kimmel kickstarted the ceremony guns blazing and didn’t back away from taking jabs at Will Smith. Without directly mentioning the name of Will Smith, Kimmel went on to joke about last year’s incident and how Smith was awarded the Best Actor accolade despite slapping Chris Rock onstage. He stated,
“We want you to have fun, feel safe and, most importantly, we want me to feel safe. So, we have strict policies in place. If anyone in this theatre commits an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute long speech.”
The comedian also joked that if things went south during the show, he called out some people, including Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed, and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man, who could provide him protection. But it wasn’t only Will Smith, who was the target of Kimmel during his opening monologue.
Jimmy Kimmel mocked the Oscars for how they handled the Will Smith incident
Apart from blasting The Pursuit of Happyness actor during his third stint at the Oscars, Kimmel also went on to mock how the Academy handled the situation last year. The comedian joked about the new Crisis team that the Oscars have set up for any violent or unpredictable situation occurring in the Ceremony. He said,
“But seriously, the academy has a crisis team in place. If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the show, sit there and do absolutely nothing. Maybe even give the assailant a hug. If anything unpredictable or wild happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year: nothing,”
Will Smith wasn’t the only one in Kimmel’s target, as he went on to joke about several other biggies during his 14-minute-long opening monologue. Although Smith wasn’t present at the Oscars, following his 10-year ban from the Academy Awards, it’s reasonable to assume that the Men in Black star wouldn’t be quite relished by Kimmel’s jokes.
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live
