The highly anticipated 2023 Oscars aired on Sunday, March 12, and the ceremony’s executive producer and host’s wife Jimmy Kimmel shared some hidden secrets.
Kimmel’s wife, Molly McNearney, shared that there were definitely more Will Smith jokes that were cut from the final broadcast of the 95th Oscars.
Kimmel, 55, hosted the star-studded ceremony, a year after Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage when Rock, 58, made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
McNearney, 45, explained why her husband didn’t go “harder” on Smith-Rock slap-gate. “We didn’t want this year to be just like last year,” she told Variety.
“I can’t tell you how many Will Smith jokes we’ve had and gotten rid of. We think only the best for this play made it. There were definitely some that were harder, but we don’t didn’t think this was our place to do it. It should be Chris Rock, not us.
McNearney admitted they didn’t want to completely ignore the incident, “we really liked the idea of poking fun at the backlash from last year”, adding that, “I think we’re all still a little bit under the shock of how this went down and how after seeing this violence everyone had to attend an acceptance speech.”
Kimmel joked during her opening monologue on Sunday night: “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 policies in place If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any time during the show, you will receive the Oscar for Best Actor and be allowed to give a 19-minute speech.