American TV host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who is set to host the 95th Academy Awards in March 2023, has opened up about topics and past blunders at the event that he will address during the ceremony. In a recent interview, Mr Kimmel said that he was pretty sure that the infamous Will Smith-Chris Rock controversy will be mentioned.
"It's got to come up in some way," he told Extra. "You know, I don't want to really make light of it necessarily, because to comedians, you know, comedians are mad about it...It's one of those things that for a group of people that find everything funny, it's, like, not funny, you know? But of course, you have to. Just like when they read the wrong winner one year when I hosted the Oscars, we had to make mention of that the next year."
During the last Oscar ceremony, actor Will Smith walked up on stage and slapped Chris Rock in full public view. Mr Chris had made a joke about Will Smith's wife and actor Jada Pinkett Smith being in the "GI Jane" sequel because of her shaved head (Mrs Smith suffers from an acute hair loss condition called alopecia). After the incident, the actor has been banned from Academy events, including the Oscars, for 10 years. The Will Smith-Chris Rock showdown at the Oscars had taken the internet by storm, inspiring a plethora of memes and jokes.
Later, in an Instagram post, Mr Smith said that he was embarrassed by his actions but "a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for him to bear".
Coming to the Awards ceremony, Kimmel will host the 2023 Oscars on Sunday, March 12, when the telecast will air live on ABC. This will be his third stint as Oscar Emcee. He first hosted the awards show in 2017 and then again in 2018.
Meanwhile, 2022 Oscars co-host Regina Hall poked fun at the slapgate row and spoke about Mr Kimmel hosting the show. She told People, "I think it's really a bad idea. No, I'm joking. We'll make sure Jimmy's got something on so he doesn't get injured onstage and nobody comes up out of the audience. But I think it's gonna be a fun show and he's tried and true, so I'm excited to see what he's gonna do."