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During his Sunday night performance in Phoenix, comedian Chris Rock, who was famously slapped by actor Will Smith during the 2022 Academy Awards, said that he had been approached to host the ceremony the following year but had turned down the offer.
Going to the Oscars in 2023 would be like returning to the scene of a crime for Chris Rock. On Sunday, the 57-year-old comic told a Phoenix comedy show crowd that he was invited to emcee next year's event but rejected.
The 'Everybody Hates Chris' star told the audience that returning to the Oscars would be like asking Nicole Brown Simpson to go back to the restaurant where she left her eyeglasses before being slain, a reference to OJ Simpson's murder trial, in which Simpson was acquitted.
Chris Rock Won't Host Oscars Awards in 2023
Will Smith, 53, rushed to the stage at the Academy Awards on March 27 and slapped Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, appearing like 'GI Jane' owing to her bald head. Rock also claimed to have been offered and declined a post-slap Super Bowl ad. ABC President of Entertainment Craig Erich told Deadline in May that he was open to Rock returning as host the following year.
Rock had previously presented the Academy Awards twice, in 2005 and 2016. However, Smith claims that Rock is still not ready to discuss the 2022 smackdown. Instead, in a nearly six-minute YouTube video on July 29, the 'King Richard' star openly apologized to Rock.
Except for a few comedy appearances in recent months, Rock has remained mostly silent on the event. The Oscars will be held on March 12, 2023, as per New York Post. During his act, the comic also disclosed that he was approached to do a Super Bowl ad in the aftermath of the slap, but he declined. Rock will not say whose firm approached him to appear in the Super Bowl commercial.
When urged by an audience member to 'Talk about it,' alluding to Smith's slap, Rock confirmed that it did hurt, noting that Smith had formerly played boxing star Muhammad Ali. While Smith has apologized for his behavior, Rock has remained silent about the slap for the previous five months. Rock addressed the incident briefly on his Ego Death stand-up comedy tour although he did not deliver a whole set about it, according to Daily Mail.
Will Smith Feels Less Ashamed After Public Apology
Will Smith was blacklisted from The Academy and all of its activities for ten years following the now-famous slap. The King Richard star is feeling much better after publicly apologizing to Rock.
According to the insider, the actor was in a bad mood before apologizing. However, broadcasting the video and addressing questions made him feel more at ease in public.
The fresh statements come after Smith released an apologetic video to Rock on YouTube after punching the comedian onstage in front of millions of people worldwide in March for making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, ET Online via MSN reported.
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