Chris Rock is claiming he was asked to host the Oscars not long after he was famously struck across the face by Will Smith during this year’s telecast.
via: AZ Central
Rock also said during his show at Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix that he had been offered the chance to do a Super Bowl commercial, but profanely said he refused that as well.
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.”
The slap during the March ceremony was referenced briefly and early during the comedian’s approximately 90-minute show on Sunday, though the sold-out crowd seemed primed to hear him address it.
As Rock mentioned how a person could get famous for being a victim, someone in the crowd shouted, “Talk about it.”
Rock said that the hit from Smith hurt, referencing how Smith had played the boxer Muhammad Ali in a movie.
“He’s bigger than me,” Rock said. “The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith.”
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences did not return an email asking to confirm whether Rock was asked to host the 2023 ceremony.
Rock did not say what company had asked him to be in a Super Bowl commercial.
The Academy banned Smith from the Oscars for a decade for his slap of Rock.
During the 2022 ceremony, before presenting an award, Rock made a joke about the shaved head of Smith’s wife, the actress Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock suggested she went bald for a movie role, quipping “G.I. Jane 2? Can’t wait to see it.” He was apparently unaware that Pinkett Smith has alopecia, which caused sudden hair loss.
Will Smith, who was seated by the stage, walked up to Rock and slapped him across the face, then returned to his seat and shouted at Rock to not say his wife’s name.
In late July, Smith posted a video apology to Rock. “Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk,” Smith said in the video.
Rock has referenced the incident during his Ego Death tour that started in April. But has not done a full routine about it.
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