Host Jimmy Kimmel warned any would-be slappers that they’d have to go through several tough on-screen characters at the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday.
Kimmel, who took on hosting duties for the first time in six years, didn’t miss as he took aim at Will Smith for his infamous slap of presenter Chris Rock from last year’s ceremony.
“If anyone in this theater 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,” said Kimmel before poking fun at attendees’ response to the slap last year.
“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 continued.
The quip comes in a year when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said it has prepared for moments it “may not anticipate” with the help of a crisis management team.
The show’s executive producer, Molly McNearney, told reporters last week that the show would acknowledge the slap and move on from it in an effort to keep a focus on this year’s festivities.
Kimmel, who appeared alongside “Top Gun: Maverick” star Tom Cruise in an edited clip in the show’s opening, dropped onto the stage in a parachute before his monologue.
He noted that any potential on-stage attackers would have to handle several fictional characters on their way up to the stage.
“[You’ll] have to get through the heavyweight champ, Adonis Creed, before you get to me. You’re going to have to do battle with Michelle Yeoh before you get to me,” said Kimmel, who previously hosted the Oscars during its Best Picture mix-up in 2017.
“You’re going to have to beat ‘The Mandalorian’ before you get to me. You’re going to have to tangle with Spider-Man. You’re going to have tangle with Fabelman. And then you’re going to have to go through my right-hand man, Guillermo, if you want to get up to this stage.”