The 95th Academy Awards are quickly approaching, but it appears the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is still looking back at the events of the 94th Academy Awards. In a recent interview with TIME, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer confirmed that a “crisis team” would be put in place for this year’s award show.
“We have a whole crisis team, something we’ve never had before, and many plans in place,” Kramer told the legacy publication.
“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.”
The crisis team has been created in direct response to Will Smith’s decision to slap Chris Rock during last year’s award show. Later that evening, Will Smith won the “Best Actor” award for his performance in King Richard. Afterward, Smith was banned from the Academy Awards and other Academy events for at least a decade. However, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Janet Yang did not feel that her organization acted swiftly enough in response to the matter.
“I’m sure you all remember we experienced an unprecedented event at the Oscars,” Yang said at a recent Oscars event.
“What happened onstage was fully unacceptable and the response from our organization was inadequate.”
Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the 2023 Oscars will take place on March 12, 2023 on ABC.
