'SNL' pokes fun at Oscars diversity, security measures; Jamie Lee Curtis reacts to impersonation

The 2023 Oscars air tonight and a year later, Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 ceremony is still at the top of people's minds.

"Saturday Night Live" leaned into the fear of the unknown at the Academy Awards with a skit posing as Access Hollywood red carpet hosts. Marcello Hernandez played Mario Lopez while Heidi Gardner played "Maria Menounos or Kit Hoover. They haven't told me which yet."

"We are so excited to have been standing outside the Dolby Theatre for almost 153 hours. But it’s all worth it to ask Angela Bassett if she really did the thing," Hernandez’s Lopez said, referencing Ariana DeBose's BAFTA's rap last month.

Gardner turned her attention to Smith's infamous moment last year. "Now, last year's Oscars had the slap, which was awesome," she said, before correcting herself to say "I mean bad, so bad." Henandez's Lopez added, "We hated all the attention."

To "make sure nothing crazy happens," the fictional Oscars ceremony enlisted "notoriously calm and sane person" Mike Tyson, played by Kenan Thompson, as the new head of security.

"This year, all the nominees have been given tasers, all the seat fillers have been given guns and Jimmy Kimmel has been given a flamethrower," Thompson's Tyson told the red carpet hosts. He also shared that in order to make sure Smith doesn't repeat offend, the producers of the show slipped an Apple AirTag into the "Emancipation" actor's pocket to track his whereabouts "unless, of course, he changed his pants and then he could be anywhere."

The fictional hosts tackled the show's lack of diversity next during their red carpet segment. "Remember, Oscar turns 95 this year," Hernandez said. Gardner added: "So, if you think about how racist and sexist your grandpa was at 95, Oscar's looking pretty darn good."

Hernandez and Gardner had several guests on their red carpet, including Chloe Fineman’s overenthusiastic Jamie Lee Curtis, Mikey Day’s Colin Farrell, Molly Kearney’s Brendan Gleeson and Bowen Yang’s Rep. George Santos pretending to be Tom Cruise.

Fineman's impersonation was Curtis-approved, with the "Everything Everywhere All at Once" star posting a side-by-side of herself and Fineman on Instagram Sunday.

"Well... (Chloe) Mommy thinks you are funny AF! XO," Curtis wrote.

In an interesting twist, the "SNL" stars predicted the odds of who would be a surprise appearance. The poll, as part of a fake gambling sponsorship, included: Chris Rock, Jared from Subway, Armie Hammer, the Supreme Court judges that overturned Roe v. Wade, Santos pretending to be Cruise and Harvey Weinstein introducing Kanye West.

Everything to know about the 2023 Oscars:

• Oscar nominations 2023: 'Everything Everywhere' leads with 11, Jamie Lee Curtis gets first nod

• Snubbed by the Oscars! Brad Pitt, Viola Davis, Adam Sandler shut out of Academy nominations

• Oscars implements first 'crisis team' in its history after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock

• Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel reveals the red carpet is champagne-colored: 'No blood will be shed'

• Donkeys are Oscar season's biggest stars, from 'Banshees' and 'Eo' to 'Triangle of Sadness'

Contributing: Edward Segarra

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jamie Lee Curtis reacts to Chloe FIneman's 'SNL' impersonation of her