Chris Rock breaks silence on Will Smith Oscars slap, shuts down offer to host awards show again

Chris Rock finally breaks his silence following one of the most contentious incidents at this year’s Oscars and his decision to host the awards show for the second time.

According to AZ Central, the comedian discussed the infamous Oscar slap during his performance at the Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix. After Rock mentioned the circumstances under which a victim could become famous, a fan urged him to discuss it, prompting the comedian to cleverly recall Smith’s role as Muhammad Ali in the 2001 film “Ali.”

Rock told the crowd:

“He’s bigger than me. The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith.”

During the show, Rock also revealed that, in the aftermath of the slapping incident, the Academy approached him with an offer to host the Oscars in 2023. He was also chosen to appear in a Super Bowl commercial. On the other hand, Rock revealed that he had turned down both offers.

According to AZ Central, the 57-year-old star compared the incident to O.J. Simpson’s murder trial when asked about the offer to host the Oscars again.

According to AZ Central:

“Rock compared returning to the Oscars like returning to the scene of a crime, referencing the murder trial of O.J. Simpson, whose ex-wife’s killing began with her leaving a pair of eyeglasses at an Italian restaurant. Rock said returning to the award ceremony would be like asking Nicole Brown Simpson ‘to go back to the restaurant.'”

Will Smith’s public apology video, recently uploaded on July 29, has received no public response from the comedian or his representatives.

However, the “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star revealed that when he tried to contact Rock, he received a message saying that the latter was “not ready to talk.” According to some sources, the comedian has no plans to seek closure with Smith because he has “moved on” from the incident.

Chris Rock is scheduled to appear in the upcoming ” Amsterdam ” film alongside Margot Robbie, Christian Bale, and Taylor Swift. David O. Russell will direct the film, which will be released on October 7, 2022.