How do you solve a problem like The Slap?
There was speculation ahead of last night’s Oscars about how organisers and presenters would approach the Will Smith-shaped elephant in the room. Would they attempt to breeze past it and hope this year’s ceremony goes off without a mention of celebrity-on-celebrity violence? Would there be an earnest PSA about lessons learned? Or would they rinse the absent actor and hang him out to dry?
Well, if Will Smith – who’s banned from the ceremony for 10 years – was watching at home and doing a shot every time it was mentioned, he won’t be too hungover today. The actor got off fairly lightly for his outburst at last year’s Oscars, which saw him slap comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia.
This year’s host, Jimmy Kimmel, didn’t dare mention the Smiths by name. Instead, 11 minutes into the ceremony, he kicked the Slapgate references off with a joke about everyone feeling safe. “We want you to have fun, we want you to feel safe, and most importantly, we want me to feel safe,” he said during his opening monologue. “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.”
There were, of course, Will Smith jokes in Rock's new show last night. Here's what he said, plus other highlights
After being met with rapturous laughs, Kimmel continued: “If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year: nothing. Sit there and do absolutely nothing. Maybe even give the assailant a hug.”
He closed the joke with a list of people someone would have to get through to get to him, including Michael B. Jordan (as Adonis Creed), Michelle Yeoh (in Everything Everywhere All At Once), and Pedro Pascal (as The Mandalorian). “If any of you get mad at a joke and decide you want to come up here and get jiggy with it, it’s not going to be easy,” he said.
X content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
The Slap was only referenced thrice more – each time by Kimmel. Ahead of introducing Riz Ahmed and Questlove to present the award for Best Documentary Feature, Kimmel reminded the audience that this was the category that Rock was presenting at the time of the “skirmish”. “Hopefully, this time it goes off without a hitch, or at least without Hitch,” he said, referencing the 2005 Will Smith-starring romcom. “Please put your hands together, and then keep them to yourself,” he added, before Ahmed and Questlove came on stage.
Later, when introducing Elizabeth Olsen and Pedro Pascal to present two of the shorts categories, he joked: “This point in the show kind of makes you miss the slapping a little, right?”
Then, as the ceremony drew to a close, he thanked the organisers, crew, and congratulated the “crisis team” on “great work”. As he left the stage, he walked past a sign that read, ‘Number of Oscars telecast without incident’, and flipped a card to read, ‘One’.
X content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Smith himself has addressed Slapgate several times over the last year. He first had to address it on the night, after winning the award for Best Actor, delivering a tearful speech, in which he apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees. He then issued a formal video apology via YouTube, later acknowledged it as a “horrific night”, and, most recently, joked about the incident on TikTok, pretending to ask his 2022 Oscar what it thinks about him. Last night, ahead of the Oscars, he tweeted: “I guess I’ll watch this year from home.”
Rock, however, has barely referenced the incident, once telling a live audience: “I’m not talking about it until I get paid.” Sticking to his word, Rock shared his first proper response to The Slap in his new Netflix special, Selective Outrage, this month. He alleged that Smith was taking some personal anger at his wife out on Rock, and joked that he now takes pleasure in watching the actor’s misfortune on screen. “Now I watch Emancipation just to see him get whupped,” he said. Finally, he addressed questions about why he didn’t retaliate. “You know what my parents told me? Don’t fight in front of white people.”
So, in the end, everyone was on their best behaviour this year – particularly when it came to jokes. And, sure, it was nice to see everyone get along, but we’re holding out for Will Smith to celebrate his comeback with another slap. Only nine more years to go.
