Jordan Karlesson
Comedian Chris Rock still isn’t smiling about the infamous Will Smith slap seen ‘round the world.
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Rock revealed at his Sunday performance in Phoenix that he rejected an offer to host the Academy Awards next year.
Chris Rock said returning to the Oscars would be masochistic given the pain that Smith caused him with the stunning slap. He used a metaphor that may be offensive to some but lines up with Rock’s irreverent persona, Arizona Republic reported.
Hosting the Oscars would be akin to Nicole Brown Simpson repeating the actions that led to OJ Simpson murdering her, Rock said.
Chris Rock Still Stinging From Will Smith’s Slap
The incident in which Smith charged the stage and hit Rock occurred at the Academy Awards ceremony on March 27. In early April, Chris Rock announced that he wouldn’t address the incident “until I get paid,” Newsweek reported.
That promise only lasted for about three months. At a recent show at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Chris Rock declared that he didn’t want to be considered a “victim” due to the fracas.
On Sunday night, he reportedly addressed the incident again in front of a sold-out crowd at Arizona Financial Theatre.
An attendee of the show reportedly shouted, “Talk about it!,” and Rock granted the request. Joking or not, the comedian claimed Smith — who played boxer Muhammad Ali in a biopic — hurt him with the hit.
“He’s bigger than me,” Rock said, per Arizona Republic. “The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith.”
Despite Chris Rock briefly mentioning the slap during various stops on his current Ego Death tour, he hasn’t done a full segment on it yet, Arizona Republic noted.
Smith issued a video apology and Jada Pinkett Smith called for her husband and Rock to reconcile. But the comedian said he doesn’t have time for it.
I don’t blame him for saying no to doing it next year. The academy should have sent someone to remove Will Smith on air the minute he got back to his chair. If the academy is going to do nothing to protect their host, why would anyone want to host that show again?