Bill Kramer, chief executive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said there was “an entire crisis team” in place for the next Academy Awards – a first for the ceremony in its 95 years.
The move comes in further response to Will Smith’s infamous slap in the face of Chris Rock, as the latter was about to receive the Oscar for best documentary.
In conversation with Time Magazine, Kramer, director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said: “We have a whole crisis team, something we’ve never had before, and there are a lot of plans. We’ve run through a lot of scenarios. So we hope we are prepared for anything that we may not expect at the moment, but where we plan if it does happen.”
He added, “Because of last year, we opened up to the many things that could happen at the Oscars. But these contingency plans — the crisis communications teams and structures that we have in place — allow us to say, ‘This is the group that we need to come together very quickly. That’s how we all come together. This is the speaker. This will be the explanation.” And of course, depending on the details of the crisis, and let’s hope nothing happens and we never have to use it, but we already have frameworks that we can change.”
At the 94th Oscars last year, Rock made oneGI Jane 2″ Makes jokes about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith having very little hair on her head. Smith then took the stage and slapped Rock in the face, prompting the stunned comedian to say, “Wow, Will Smith just punched the fuck out of me.” As the Academy officials, the audience at the Dolby Theater and millions of television viewers tried to process what he had just seen, Smith returned to his seat and shouted twice at Rock: “Keep my wife’s name out of your mouth. “
Smith later returned to the stage to take home an Academy Award for Best Actor king richard, but the effects were swift.
The academy, which was to criticize the alleged lack of immediate action, released a statement later that evening saying it did not condone “violence of any kind,” and Smith apologized the next day. Many other people and groups condemned the hit, and comedians rallied around Rock. A “heartbroken” Smith resigned from the academy days later, and a week later AMPAS banned him from the Oscars for 10 years.
The 95th Academy Awards will be presented on March 12 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.
Source: Deadline
Ashley Root is an author and celebrity journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for all things celebrity, Ashley is always up-to-date on the latest gossip and trends in the world of entertainment.
