Jimmy Kimmel won’t turn the other cheek at this year’s Oscars.
The 55-year-old night host and comedian will host the ceremony for a third time this Sunday, and he’s prepared to fight back if someone slaps him, unless, of course, that person is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
On last year’s show, Will Smith caused a stir when he slammed host Chris Rock on stage on live television over a joke Rock made about Alopecia from Jada Pinkett Smith.
In an interview with the Hollywood reporterKimmel explained how he would deal with someone who ambushed the podium at this year’s event.
“If someone comes on stage and slaps me?” Kimmel began.
“Well, I’ll measure them up, and when I’m taller than them, I’ll beat them up on TV. And if it’s the Rock, I run away,” he joked.
The father-of-four then gave his opinion on whether the clap heard around the world is “almost boring to joke about right now”.
“Well, whatever I say about it, it must be great, right?” Kimmel said. “Because so much has been said and so much thought has gone into it. Of course I don’t want to make the whole monologue about that, but it would be ridiculous not to mention it.”
The slap isn’t the comedian’s first Oscar scandal. Kimmel famously helmed the 2017 ceremony when #envelopegate sparked a major stir.
“La La Land” was mistakenly named Best Picture winner after Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway received the wrong category envelope. The drama “Moonlight” was the actual winner, and their win was announced midway through the former’s acceptance speech.
Kimmel reflected on the confusion: “It’s disappointing in many ways. If you’re going to be a part of af-kup, it might as well be the biggest f-kup ever. Being part of the second biggest f–kup doesn’t have that much cachet.”
He also talked about the hit People earlier this month. “It’s still shocking that that happened,” he said.
‘To see something like this happen outside of something like this’The Maury Povich Show‘ is shocking. And then when it happens at the Oscars, it’s magnified about a million times,” he noted.
He added: “I think it’s something everyone regrets and we’re going to get over. One day it will be looked at the same way that dude ran naked on stage: a weird moment we all talked about and hopefully learn from.
Kimmel admitted that he hasn’t spoken to the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star yet, but he has spoken to Rock about the incident.
The talk show host applauded Rock’s reaction, saying, “I mean, to get punched in the face and stay so calm is something Chris should be proud of. I hope Chris’ grandchildren will still be proud of that when he’s dead and gone.”
