Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the Oscars for the third time on Sunday, and he’s sharing how he’ll address Will Smith‘s infamous slap of Chris Rock from last year’s show.
“I have given it much thought,” Kimmel told GMA co-anchor Lara Spencer. “I know that a million jokes have been made about it, a million think pieces have been written on it… There has been a lot said about it, so whatever I say has to be I think — you know, it has to be good.”
“And I do have some good things to say about it. I think that it’s gonna be on everybody’s mind,” he added. “Everybody’s gonna be waiting for that moment. And that will be part of the show, but certainly not the focus of the show.”
Kimmel first hosted the awards show in 2017, which had its own memorable mishap during the broadcast. That year, Warren Beatty incorrectly announced La La Land as the Best Picture winner instead of the actual winner, Moonlight.
“We had a little envelope problem the first time,” Kimmel said. “That was that. And then — but I’ll tell you what, nobody got hit when I hosted the show,” he joked. “Everybody was very well-behaved at my Oscars.”
As for “the slap heard ’round the world,” as it has come to be known by some, Jimmy snarked, “…[T]here’s kind of an idea now that this is an epidemic of some kind. Like the — this year, maybe two people will come up stage — and hit. Maybe in the future, it’ll be three, four, and it’ll just be — eventually it’ll be everyone rushing the stage and slapping whoever’s on it.”
Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
