Jimmy Kimmel Jokes About Everybody 'Doing Nothing' After Will Smith Slap in Oscars 2023 Monologue

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Jimmy Kimmel is skewering last year's slapping incident in his opening monologue at the Oscars.

The late-night host, 55, emceed the Academy Awards for the third time on Sunday night, tackling a wide variety of topics as he took the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles — including last year's controversial slap between Will Smith and Chris Rock.

"We know this is a special night for you. We want you to have fun. We want you to feel safe. And most importantly, we want me to feel safe," he began. "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."

Continuing, Kimmel took a moment to jokingly call out those who were present last year when the infamous slap went down. "Seriously, The Academy has a crisis team in place. If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony. Just do what you did last year: nothing," he said. "Sit there and do absolutely nothing. Maybe even give the assailant a hug."

Kimmel added that for those who "get mad at a joke" and want to react adversely, it is "not gonna be easy" this go round.

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"There are a few my friends are going to have to get through first," he said, before shouting out actors' characters, including Pedro Pascal's Mandalorian character and Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Creed from Creed.

Some of the other jokes Kimmel made included poking fun at Nicole Kidman's famed AMC advertisement, saying he was "happy to see that Nicole Kidman has finally been released from that abandoned AMC where she has been held captive for almost two years now." He also mocked Tom Cruise's Scientology connection while talking about Tom Gun: Maverick, saying, "Tom Cruise with a shirt off at a beach football scene. L. Ron hubba hubba," in reference to Scientology creator L. Ron Hubbard.

At the Oscars ceremony last year, Smith went onstage and struck Rock, a presenter, after the comedian made a joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith went on to win Best Actor for King Richard later that night, and he has since apologized to Rock and resigned from being a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy also banned him from attending its events for 10 years.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty; David Livingston/Getty Chris Rock; Will and Jada Pinkett Smith

Ahead of this year's award show, Kimmel told PEOPLE that Rock "should be proud" of how he maintained his composure in the moment.

"It's still shocking that that happened," Kimmel said. "To see something like that happen outside of like The Maury Povich Show is shocking. And then for it to happen on the Oscars magnifies it by about a million times…. I think it's something that everybody regrets and that we will move past. One day it will be looked at in the same way as that guy running onstage naked is looked at: a weird moment that we all talked about and we hopefully learn from."

"I mean, to be slapped in the face and to stay that cool is something that Chris should be proud of," he said. "Chris's grandchildren, I hope, will still be proud of that when he's dead and gone."

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Kimmel also told PEOPLE that his preparation for hosting included running through bits and late-night idea brainstorms with his wife Molly McNearney, who is an executive producer for the Oscars broadcast. But, he said he'd still leave wiggle room for the unexpected.

"I like to go in 75 percent prepared and leave some room for improvisation and reacting to the show as it's happening," he said. "I'm going to give it 110 percent."

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The Oscars are airing live on ABC on Sunday, March 12, at 8 p.m. ET.