‘Saturday Night Live’ Teases the Oscars For Hiring a Crisis Team: ‘It’s Not Going To Happen Again’

“Saturday Night Live” cast member Colin Jost, co-anchor of Weekend Update, levied a jab at the Academy for this week’s decision to hire a “crisis team” for the upcoming 2023 Oscars.

Devised to ensure first-line responders are available at the awards show in the case of an emergency, the newly-implemented team comes on the heels of last year’s tumultuous ceremony. The 2022 Oscars saw actor Will Smith slap presenter Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife. The violent outburst resulted in Smith being banned from events hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the next decade.

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“Guys, it’s not going to happen again,” Jost joked, seeming to address the telecast’s producers. “I’m sure you wish it would, for ratings. If anything the promo should be, ‘Who’s going to get slapped this year?’ Can Ana de Armas beat the ‘Tar’ out of Cate Blanchett? Which banshee will knock the shoes off Marcel the Shell? And who has what it takes to ‘Whale’ on Brendan Fraser?”

Jokes aside, the Academy’s executive team is approaching this year’s ceremony with preemptive caution: “Because of [the slap] last year, we’ve opened our minds to the many things that can happen at the Oscars,” said AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer. “But these crisis plans — the crisis communication teams and structures we have in place — allow us to say this is the group that we have to gather very quickly. This is how we all come together.”

The 2023 Oscars will be held Mar. 12 at the Los Angeles Dolby Theatre.

Watch the full segment of Weekend Update from the latest episode of “Saturday Night Live” below.

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