Rock says he won’t return to Oscars unless nominated, as it’s disrespectful to current hosts.
Rock believes his ‘bad day’ is not the biggest issue, with more pressing matters in the world.
Rock wishes the slap incident never happened, but acknowledges it’s part of a ‘crazy world’.
Chris Rock hasn’t completely ruled out an Oscars return–but he has one condition.
Source: Brianna Bryson / Getty
As we all know, the actor and comedian was slapped by Will Smith at the 2022 Academy Awards in an incident that immediately became one of the most memorable on-stage moments in Oscars history. Now, Rock has revealed whether he would ever return to the awards show after the incident.
During an interview with Variety about his new film, Misty Green, the outlet asked if he’d been approached about hosting the Oscars again, having previously hosted the awards show in 2005 and 2016. The comedian wouldn’t let that answer slip, though, insisting it’s not fair to the people who actually host the show.
“When people answer those questions, they’re being disrespectful to the people that got the gig,” Rock replied. “They have great hosts. Conan O’Brien is amazing. Nikki Glaser is amazing on the Golden Globes. I’m not going to say never, but my time might have passed, honestly.”
The infamous slap went down in March 2022, when Rock appeared on stage at the 94th Academy Awards to present the Oscar for best documentary feature. During his brief time onstage, he made a joke about a possible “G.I. Jane” sequel, which included a reference to Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and her bald head.
Pinkett Smith has previously opened up about her struggle with alopecia, an autoimmune skin disease that can cause hair loss. In defense of his wife, Smith swiftly walked up to the stage, slapped Chris Rock, and returned to his seat while telling the actor to keep his wife’s name out of his mouth.
After the incident, the Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences barred Smith from attending any Academy events, including the Oscars, for 10 years A week prior, Smith resigned from the Academy, and has apologized several times since the incident.
Rock opened up about the aftermath of the slap while talking to Variety, insisting it’s not as important as many other things happening in the world.
“I wish nothing would have happened,” the comedian explained. “It’s a crazy world. We walk by homeless people. There’s all sorts of [stuff] going on right now. Me having a bad day is not the biggest – it’s not that important.”
As for whether or not he’d return to the Oscars stage, Rock said a nomination is the only way he’d consider it–but he’ll cross that bridge when he gets to it.
“The only way I’ll go back is if I’m nominated, and I’m not getting nominated,” Rock said. “And that’s OK. We’ll deal with that if it happens. Like, let’s manage expectations.”
