Chris Rock refuses offer from The Academy to host 2023 Oscars after infamous slapgate involving Will Smith

Here’s a recap of what happened last year -According to The Hollywood Reporter, during his Sunday night show at the Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix, the comedian shared that the Academy asked him to return to host for a third time (the comedian hosted the awards show twice, in 2005 and 2016) after the infamous moment at the 2022 ceremony in which Will Smith slapped Rock onstage after Rock poked a joke about Smithu2019s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.During his standup routine, Rock said returning to the Oscars would have been like going back to the scene of a crime, referencing it to OJ Simpson, who was alleged to have killed his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson. He added that he was offered a Super Bowl commercial as well, but refused that too. Per the report, the comedianu2019s sold-out crowd was eager to hear his take on the incident, with a fan yelling out, u201cTalk about it!u201dChris Rock continued, referencing Smithu2019s performance as boxer Muhammed Ali in the 2001 drama Ali, for which Smith earned his first Oscar nomination. u201cHeu2019s bigger than me,u201d Rock said. u201cThe state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith.u201d In April, the Academyu2019s board of governors banned Smith from returning to the Oscars or attending any other Academy events for the next 10 years, a week after Smith publicly resigned from the Academy. Months after the incident, the actor apologised to Rock in a video.Earlier this month, newly appointed Academy CEO Bill Kramer noted that they are u201ccommitted to having a host on the show this yearu201d and u201calready looking at some key partners on that.u201d He also emphasized that the slap will not be a topic of discussion or jokes at the next ceremony. u201cWe want to move forward and to have an Oscars that celebrates cinema. Thatu2019s our focus right now,u201d he said.