Chris Rock, who received a punch from Will Smith while hosting the 2022 Oscars, has admitted that he was asked to serve as the master of ceremonies again for the 2023 ceremony but turned down the offer.
On August 28, the 57-year-old comedian said, “Going back to the Oscars would be like going back to a crime scene,” in front of a Phoenix comedy show audience.
He likened it to asking the late Nicole Brown Simpson “to go back to the restaurant” where she left her eyeglasses before she was killed, in a reference to the murder trial of O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted in the case.
Someone in the sold-out concert asked Rock to “talk about” being slapped by Will Smith and Chris Rock admitted that the blow from Smith hurt.
“He’s bigger than me,” Chris Rock said.
He added: “The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith.”
Rock also claimed he was offered a post-slap Super Bowl commercial but he turned it down.
Rock had previously hosted the Oscars twice – in 2005 and again 2016.
