The Chris Rock and Will Smith splapocalypse happened almost half a year ago and since then Chris Rock has been getting offers left and right to star in shows, host awards, and even promote slap-themed products, however, he has refused to contribute to the situation.
During a show that happened in Phoenix last night, Rock spoke openly about the aftermath of what occurred once the dust settled after the infamous slap, he said that the Oscars committee reached out to him and asked if he’d be willing to host the biggest night in Hollywood, to which he respectfully refused.
Jokingly, Chris Rock mentioned that if he’d go back to the Oscars it would be as if he’d be returning to a crime scene; he started riffing about the O.J. Simpson trial and saying it would be as if Nicole Brown Simpson would’ve gone back to the restaurant where she left the sunglasses before she got killed.
Chris Rock says he turned down hosting the Oscars next year, saying going back to the awards ceremony would be like asking Nicole Brown Simpson “to go back to the restaurant” where she left her eyeglasses before being killed https://t.co/ZjIPuhYePO
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) August 29, 2022
Craig Erwich is the President of Entertainment at ABC, and he spoke to Deadline back in May to see if Chris Rock would consider hosting the 2023rd edition of the famous award show, but at the same time, an academy chief executive named Bill Kramer mentioned that they wanted to put the slap incident to rest, so the public could move on.
They want to move forward
“We want to move forward and have an Oscars that celebrates cinema, that’s our focus right now. It’s really about moving forward.”
They don’t know if there will be a host until closer to the date
“We definitely want a host,” mentioned. “A host is very important to us. We are committed to having a host on the show this year, and we are already looking at some key partners on that.”
