A “crisis team” will be introduced at this year’s Oscars, to handle any real-time incidents as a response to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during the 2022 ceremony.
Academy chief executive Bill Kramer told Time magazine the new unit had “run many scenarios” in the hope they will be “prepared for anything”.
“Because of last year, we’ve opened our minds to the many things that can happen at the Oscars,” he said.
They are now quicker to react, he said.
Academy president Janet Yang previously said the response to Smith’s altercation with Rock was not swift enough.
Smith slapped the comedian after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head, which she shaved following an alopecia diagnosis. After returning to his seat, the actor repeatedly shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out your [expletive] mouth” at Rock.
Despite the incident, he remained at the ceremony and later collected the best actor Oscar for his performance in King Richard.
Although Smith later resigned from the Academy, it took several more days for the organisation to make a decision on his membership. He was ultimately banned from the Oscars gala and other Academy events for 10 years.
Kramer said the new team would be able to gather “very quickly” to issue a response on the night of the show itself.
“Let’s hope something doesn’t happen and we never have to use these [plans], but we already have frameworks in place that we can modify.”
Source: BBC
