Chris Rock claims he was offered to host Oscars 2023 but he turned it down
Chris Rock has revealed he was given an offer to host the 2023 Academy Awards.
The legendary comedian hosted this year's Oscars and, let's just say, it was certainly a memorable night.
Will Smith slapped Rock towards the end of the glitzy event this year after the comedian made a joke about Smith's wife's shaved head.
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During a stand-up show in Phoenix, Arizona, an audience member urged him to talk about the infamous assault.
Rock alleged he was given another shot at the hosting gig but likened it to returning to the scene of a crime, according to Arizona Republic.
He told people gathered at the Arizona Financial Theatre for the Chris Rock Ego Death World Tour that hosting the Oscars again was like asking Nicole Brown Simpson 'to go back to the restaurant where where she left a pair of glasses the night she was murdered', as IndieWire put it.
Rock said: “[Will Smith]’s bigger than me. The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith.”
Chris is slowly getting more comfortable talking about the controversial night.
Just five days after this year's Oscars, Rock had the first stand-up show for his sold-out tour across America.
Everyone was expecting him to mention the big moment and divulge some context so we could all work out why Smith was so provoked.
But Rock told the audience in Boston: “I don’t have a bunch of s**t about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend, and I’m still kind of processing what happened.
“So at some point, I’ll talk about that shit. And it’ll be serious, and it’ll be funny.”
Will Smith has since apologised to Rock for the slap, however it's unclear whether their friendship will be mended anytime soon.
The actor claimed he had tried to approach Rock to apologise in the aftermath of the event but was told by Rock's team the comedian 'wasn't ready to talk to him'.
He posted a video where he said: "So I will say to you, Chris, I apologise to you. My behaviour was unacceptable and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk."
Rock replied to the video during one of his stand-up shows in Atlanta, where he said everyone was trying to be a 'victim'.
"If everybody claims to be a victim, then nobody will hear the real victims," he told the crowd in late July.
"Even me getting smacked by Suge Smith…I went to work the next day, I got kids. Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face."
Topics: Chris Rock, Will Smith, Celebrity, Academy Awards
Stewart Perrie