Chris Rock declines offer to host Oscars 2023 ceremony, reveals during standup show

After this year’s Oscars ‘slapgate’, comedian Chris Rock has reportedly declined an offer to host next year’s Academy Award ceremony. He made the reveal during a standup comedy show on Sunday. (Also read: Chris Rock reveals why he isn’t talking about Will Smith Oscars slap incident)

Actor Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage earlier this year during the Oscars ceremony for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Will has apologised twice about the incident since then but looks like Chris is not ready to forget it all just yet. Will will not be present at the ceremony or any Academy event for the next 10 years after the ban was installed on him.

As per Arizona Republic, during a comedy set at the Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday, Chris compared going back to the Oscars to returning to the scene of a crime. While discussing the hosting offer, the comedian made a reference to the 1995 murder trial of O.J. Simpson, noting it would be like asking the late Nicole Brown Simpson “to go back to the restaurant” where her mother had left a pair of glasses the night of her death.

About Will, he said, “He’s bigger than me. The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith.” Not just the Oscars, Chris also turned down the opportunity to appear in a Super Bowl ad following the slapping incident.

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock after the latter made a joke about Jada’s bald head, unaware of her medical condition. Will walked up to the stage and smacked Chris across the face, telling him to ‘keep my wife’s name out your fu**ing mouth.’ A few minutes after the incident, Will was announced Best Actor at the 94th Academy Awards.

However, later that night, Will issued an apology to Chris Rock and Academy on his social media handle. “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness,” Will wrote on Instagram. Recently, he shared another apology video for Chris.