Immediately after “The Slap” occurred during this year’s Oscars telecast, folks were feverishly discussing who was right and who was wrong. Some people defended Will Smith for his actions, while others applauded Chris Rock for essentially keeping his composure after being assaulted on live TV. But really, people were curious about what the fallout would be. Will Smith eventually left the Academy and is seemingly persona non grata for the time being. But what about Chris Rock? Well, according to the actor-comedian, the Academy did try to win back his goodwill with a job offer.
READ MORE: Chris Rock On Will Smith’s Oscar Slap: “I’m Not A Victim” But “That Sh*t Hurt”
During a recent live comedy performance (via Arizona Republic), Chris Rock joked about the incident at this year’s Oscars. He made light of the slap by saying, “He’s bigger than me. The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith.” But that wasn’t all. Rock also confirmed that the Academy did offer him a hosting job for the 2023 Oscars, but he declined… in a very Chris Rock way.
Making an off-color joke about the job offer, Rock compared going back to the Oscars to asking Nicole Brown Simpson to “go back to the restaurant.” We’re not going to go into detail about why that joke might offend quite a few people, but a simple Google search on your part will suffice.
That said, it’s clear Chris Rock is ready to joke about the incident but isn’t ready to become the center of attention at the Oscars again. And who can blame him? Regardless of how you feel about the events that transpired that evening, whether or not Chris Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith warranted a public assault, you have to agree that the actor was embarrassed in front of millions of people around the world as a result.
Simply offering him a hosting gig doesn’t seem to be the best idea, even if it is a full year later. Rock knows that anything he tries to do during the hosting would be overshadowed by people trying to see if something violent would happen or if he’d make jokes about it all night. It would be a nightmare.
So, while we aren’t sure how the 2023 Oscars will be changed in light of The Slap, we do know that Chris Rock won’t be around hosting the event.
