“There Are Protocols”: Academy Producer Explains How They Prevent Will Smith Slapgate-Like Incidents This Year

Published 03/14/2026, 3:49 PM EDT

There is no night in Hollywood bigger than the night of the Oscars. It is the ultimate celebration of some of the best cinema of the year and the people behind their making. The amount of effort and dedication to make this one night perfect is beyond comprehension, especially when controversial incidents like the infamous Will Smith slapgate have already scarred the history of Oscars.  

Despite all this pressure, the producers of the show strive to organize the greatest night of the year with the utmost sincerity and are prepared to respond when things go off-script.

What did the Academy producer say about managing a live crisis?

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It is always a nightmare when things go haywire in a live event - the shock, the panic, the brainfreeze - all creep in at once, shutting the senses for a moment. Talking to Vanity Fair, Oscar producer for event, Katy Mullan, reassured that there are protocols in place to prevent anything like the Will Smith slapgate from happening.

"There’s a huge foundational knowledge and infrastructure here. So there are protocols for everything," said Mullan.

Mullan acknowledged that incidents like that would keep anyone involved in the production of such a show up at night. But the fact that the Oscars have been taking place for a long time provides them with ample knowledge and infrastructure to tackle such situations. So this time, they have better protocols for keeping things as smooth as possible. Especially when it comes to the envelopes and winners, everything is wrapped up pretty neatly.

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The slapgate incident was one of the most controversial moments in Oscars history, and since then, a lot of precautionary measures have been put in place to handle such incidents better.

The protocols introduced since Will Smith’s slapgate incident

After the incident involving Will Smith and Chris Rock, the first thing that the Academy did was to ban Smith from entering the Oscars for 10 years. Although the actor is still a member of the Academy and can be nominated for awards during this period, he cannot attend the show until the ban lifts in 2032. 

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The second measure was the implementation of a 'crisis team' that would work through such situations and handle real-time emergencies to prevent future on-stage disruptions. Even though they have constituted a crisis team, it goes without saying that they do not want such a situation where they have to use them. 

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Do you think these protocols are enough to stop a crisis like the slapgate incident? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Harshit Kumar

79 articles

With nearly two years of experience in content writing, primarily in sports, Harshit has now ventured into the alluring alleys of Hollywood at NetflixJunkie. A true pop-culture fanatic and a certified cheat code for movie trivia night, he brings infectious enthusiasm to every conversation. He has strong opinions about everything from uplifting superhero spectacles to gripping psychological crime dramas, and he is never shy about backing them up.

Edited By: Hriddhi Maitra

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