Ex-Oscars Host Jimmy Kimmel Reveals How He Would’ve Handled Will Smith’s Slap

Jimmy Kimmel had the same reaction as millions of Oscars viewers on Sunday night when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock: He didn’t think it was real.

“I said to my wife, ‘They did a really good job with that punch, it looked so real,’” Kimmel said on Monday night. “About three seconds later, we realized it was because it was real.”

Kimmel, a two-time host of the awards show, also praised Rock. He noted that the comedian took the hit, ad-libbed a line then introduced the Best Documentary category “as if he hadn’t just been slapped by the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”

“[Rock] handled it about as well as you could possibly handle being slapped on stage at the Oscars. He didn’t even flinch when Will slapped him,” Kimmel said. “I would’ve been crying so hard.”

When friends asked Kimmel what he would’ve done had he been on stage, he said, “I would’ve run.”

“The second I saw Will Smith get up out of the seat I’d have been half way to the Wetzel’s Pretzels, enjoying the samples in front of the store,” Kimmel added.

The late night host devoted the bulk of his Monday night monologue to dissecting to instantly infamous moment: