Photo: Matt Sayles/ABC
But in retrospect, Envelopegate seems more an unfortunate blip compared to the incident on last year’s telecast whenWill SmithslappedChris Rockacross the face onstage.
Chris Rock.Al Seib/A.M.P.A.S./Getty
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While Kimmel hasn’t talked to Smith, he has touched base with Rock, and commends the comedian for keeping calm in real-time.
“I mean, to be slapped in the face and to stay that cool is something that Chris should be proud of,” he says. “Chris’s grandchildren, I hope, will still be proud of that when he’s dead and gone.”
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“I like to go in 75 percent prepared and leave some room for improvisation and reacting to the show as it’s happening,” he says. “I remember hosting the American Music Awards andMissy Elliotwas very late for her award, and Dick Clark came bounding up to me backstage and said, ‘Missy Elliot isn’t here. You’ve got to fill!’ … I had to stand out there and BS my way through of few minutes of nothing until Missy pulled in.”
His reaction to the experience? “I don’t remember what I said, but I remember really feeling alive at that moment and enjoying it!,” he recalls.
No matter what may befall him during this year’s telecast, Kimmel knows one thing for sure: “I’m going to give it 110 percent.”
The Oscarsair live on ABC on Sunday, March 12, at 8 p.m. ET.
For more from Jimmy Kimmel, pick up this week’s issue, on newsstands on Friday.
source: people.com
