After Will Smith slapped him on stage at the Academy Awards, Chris Rock said the Academy asked him to host the awards show next year.
While performing at a show in Phoenix on August 28, Rock told the crowd that he turned down the offer, at Arizona Republic. The comedian apparently joked that his return to the Oscars would be to ask Nicole Brown Simpson to “go back to the restaurant,” referring to the murder trial of OJ Simpson’s ex-wife, who left her glasses in an Italian restaurant before she was murdered. .
Throughout the 90 minutes of his comedy show, Rock said the Oscar slap hurt, noting that Smith played boxer Muhammad Ali in the 2001 movie “Ali.”
“He’s older than me,” Rock said on the show. “Nevada will not allow a fight between me and Will Smith.”
Rock also said he turned down an offer for a Super Bowl ad.
After slapping Rock on stage, Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in “King Richard” by Richard Williams, Serena and Venus Williams. He didn’t mention Rock in his tearful acceptance speech, instead apologizing to the comedian in a video posted months later.
“I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk, and when he’s ready, he’ll reach out to you,” Smith says in the video. “I promise, I am loyal and deeply committed to shedding light, love and joy on the world. And as you know, if you hold on, I promise that we will be able to be friends again.”
Neither Rock nor the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences responded diverseComment request.
