US actor Chris Rock speaks onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, on March 27, 2022. Image: AFP/Robyn Beck
Chris Rock, the comedian who was slapped by Will Smith during the 2022 Academy Awards, said he was offered to host the awards show’s 2023 edition, but that he refused the invitation.
Rock revealed this during his show at Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, last Sunday, Aug. 28, as per The Arizona Republic yesterday, Aug. 29.
He told the crowd during the said show that coming back to the Oscars would be like returning to a crime scene, referencing the murder trial of former football player O.J. Simpson, whose ex-wife’s killing began with her leaving a pair of eyeglasses at a restaurant.
Rock compared the possibility of returning to the Oscars to asking the late Nicole Brown Simpson “to go back to the restaurant.”
Meanwhile, the sold-out crowd during Rock’s performance seemed to be eager to hear about the comedian’s thoughts on the slap during the March Oscars ceremony. As Rock talked about how a person could get famous for being a victim, someone from the audience shouted, asking him to “talk about it.”
Rock admitted that the hit from Smith hurt, then referenced the 2001 drama film “Ali” where Smith played the boxer Muhammad Ali.
“He’s bigger than me,” Rock was quoted as saying. “The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith.”
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is yet to confirm if it indeed asked Rock to host the 2023 ceremony.
Aside from this, Rock also told attendees of the show that he was offered to do a commercial for the Super Bowl, but that he refused as well. He did not state what company asked him to be in the said commercial.
Rock was onstage during the 94th Academy Awards when he made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, referencing the film “G.I. Jane.” Smith responded by walking onto the stage, slapping Rock and shouting at him before winning the best actor award that same night.
Smith has since apologized to the comedian and the Academy about the incident, though he is now banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years.
Meanwhile, it was last May when an executive of the ABC network floated the idea of having Rock again to host the 2023 ceremony and noted that the 2022 event was a “really successful year for the show.”
The 95th Oscars ceremony will air live in March 2023 from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood with nominations announced in January next year. /ra
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