Oscars 2023: First ever ‘crisis team’ formed after Will Smith slapping incident

It was a moment that overshadowed the entire ceremony.

For the first time in Oscar history, a crisis team will be present at the 2023 awards to handle unforeseen events, in the aftermath of last year's slapping incident involving Will Smith and Chris Rock.

In an interview with TIME Magazine, Bill Kramer, the CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said preparations were in full swing to prevent any crisis at the Oscars ceremony on March 13 (according to India time).

"We have a whole crisis team, something we’ve never had before, and many plans in place," he said.  "We’ve run many scenarios. So it is our hope that we will be prepared for anything that we may not anticipate right now but that we’re planning for just in case it does happen."

Actor Will Smith had slapped comedian Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscar awards after he made fun of his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith's hair loss.

Rock's comment was widely deemed insensitive but many said Smith hitting him was still not justified.

In the wake of the controversy, Smith was barred from attending the Oscars ceremony for the next 10 years.

Some had demanded that Smith be stripped of his Best Actor award for King Richard but that didn't happen.

The actor publicly apologised to Rock, saying his behaviour at the Oscars was "shocking, painful and inexcusable".

Pinkett-Smith also addressed the controversy, through an episode of her talk show Red Talk Table. 

"My deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out, and reconcile,” she had said. “The state of the world today, we need them both, and we all actually need one another more than ever."

Will Smith says ‘accept and respect decision’ after 10-year Oscars ban over Chris Rock slap