American actor, Chris Rock, has said he was asked to host the Oscars come 2023 but he’s declined.
He informed an audience at a night show in Phoenix, Arizona in America on Sunday, 28 August 2022.
To the celebrated comedian, returning to the Oscars as a host is comparable to returning to a crime scene. He invoked the O.J. Simpson trial.
Christopher Julius Rock’s argument was, that going back to the Academy Awards as host would be like asking O.J.’s slain wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, to return to the Italian restaurant she’d gone to ahead of her murder.
Five months ago, during the 2022 Academy Awards (Oscars), Chris Rock was famously slapped by fellow comedian and actor Will Smith.
The latter appeared to have taken offense at a joke Chris had shared.
“It was a G.I. Jane joke,” Chris attempted a defense in response.
Jada Pinkett Smith, Will’s wife, has a hair loss condition medically known as alopecia. She’s spoken publicly about it on social media.
Hosting, and cracking jokes, Rock had earlier pointed at Will’s wife saying, “Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.”
Before Will Smith took to the stage to slap Chris Rock, he’d initially laughed at the joke but his wife hadn’t.
It is reported that hosts of the Oscars are paid between $15,000 to $25,000.