Chris Rock has revealed that he turned down the opportunity to host the 2023 Academy Awards following his altercation with Will Smith at the 2022 edition of the ceremony.
Social media and news outlets went into meltdown after Smith walked on to the stage and slapped Rock across the face after the comedian made comments alluding to Jada Pinkett-Smith's alopecia.
Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard that night, but was subsequently given a 10-year ceremony ban due to his violent actions.
A few months later, he would release an apology video which received a mixed reaction from fans.
The first question, read out by Smith, asks 'why didn't you apologise to Chris Rock in your acceptance speech?'
He responds: “I was fogged out by that point. It's all fuzzy. I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk, and when he is, he will reach out. 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 brushed off the attempted apology by saying that Smith was attempting to play the victim.
Rock was asked to return as Oscars host
The Oscars, perhaps attempting to capitalise on Rock's heightened status in the public eye, apparently invited the comedian back to host the 2023 awards.
He revealed this himself in a recent stand-up show.
In typical Rock fashion, he said it would be like returning to the scene of a crime and likened it to asking Nicole Brown Simpson "to go back to the restaurant" where she left her glasses before she was killed in 1994.
Simpson was infamously murdered in 1994, with ex -husband OJ Simpson emerging as the prime suspect before being acquitted.
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