Jimmy Kimmel quips about Will Smith slap and his personal crisis team in Oscars opening monologue

A year after Will Smith’s infamous slap at the Oscars, the 2023 host Jimmy Kimmel couldn’t help but reference the situation during his opening monologue on Sunday night.

“We want you to have fun, we want you to feel safe, and most importantly, we want me to feel safe,” Kimmel told the crowd of stars and filmmakers. “So we have strict policies in place. 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.”

Kimmel then addressed the fact that the Academy implemented a crisis team to handle any potential incidents after last year’s situation. “If anything unpredictable or violent happens during this ceremony, just do what you did last year: nothing. Sit there and do absolutely nothing. Maybe give the assailant a hug!”

The late-night personality jokingly listed off his own personal crisis team to handle anyone who tries to attack him on stage and “get jiggy with it.” That squad included “Adonis Creed” Michael B. Jordan, Michelle Yeoh, “The Mandalorian” Pedro Pascal, “Spider-Man” Andrew Garfield, and the “Fabelman,” director Steven Spielberg.

Jimmy Kimmel speaks onstage during the 95th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images Jimmy Kimmel delivers opening monologue at the 2023 Oscars ceremony

It also featured Guillermo. Not Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, who took home Best Animated Feature for Pinocchio shortly after the monologue concluded. The camera lingered on Del Toro’s face to drive home the joke. Kimmel meant his right-hand late-night man, Guillermo.

“I know he’s cute but make no mistake, if you so much as wink at me, that sweet little man will beat the Lydia Tár out of you,” Kimmel joked.

The host had previously alluded to Smith’s slap earlier in his Oscars opening monologue when he referenced all the Irish actors nominated for awards. “Five Irish actors are nominated tonight, which means the odds of another fight on stage just went way up,” he cracked.

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Kimmel opened his monologued by parachuting onto the Academy Awards stage after a pre-recorded bit that saw Kimmel riding in Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick jet. He poked fun at Cruise’s Scientology involvement by calling him “L. Ron Hubba-hubba” for the film’s shirtless football scene.

He then made note of the fact that Cruise and Avatar: The Way of Water director James Cameron were both absent from the ceremony. “The two guys who insisted we go back to the theater didn’t come to the theater!” Kimmel exclaimed, referencing how both the Top Gun and Avatar sequels were delayed in order to screen them in theaters.

The 95th Academy Awards are airing live Sunday night from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles. Check out the full list of winners.

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