Chris Rock Turns Down Oscars Hosting Offer for 2023

Chris Rock says he turned down an offer to host the 2023 Academy Awards after the comedian was infamously slapped at the 2022 Oscars by Best Actor winner Will Smith. Rock opened up about his refusal during a Sunday night show in Phoenix, reports The Arizona Republic, noting that he also turned down an offer to do a Super Bowl commercial in regards to the incident. 

Rock reportedly compared hosting the Oscars again to returning to the scene of a crime, saying it would be like asking Nicole Brown Simpson “to go back to the restaurant” in reference to the murder of O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife. The comedian also made reference to being hit by Smith, joking, “He’s bigger than me. The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith.”

Smith apologized to Rock earlier this month in a YouTube video but revealed the Spiral star’s team had communicated in private that he was “not ready to talk” with the King Richard actor at this point. “I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk, and when he is, he will reach out,” Smith said in the video. “So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”

“There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment. There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults,” Smith continued tearfully. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum continued that wife Jada Pinkett Smith had nothing to do with his decision to slap Rock after the comedian made a joke about Jada’s alopecia diagnosis. 

“It’s like, you know, I made a choice on my own, from my own experiences, from my history with Chris,” he explained. “Jada had nothing to do with it. I’m sorry, babe. I want to say sorry to my kids and my family for the heat that I brought on all of us.” In the aftermath of the slap, Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and offered a public apology. The Academy’s board of governors then voted to ban Smith from returning to the Oscars or attending any other Academy events for the next 10 years.