Chris Rock is not interested in hosting next year’s Oscars Awards.
On Sunday (Aug. 28), during a stand-up show in Phoenix, Arizona, he confirmed that he was offered the opportunity to host the syndicated awards show, but turned it down. According to Arizona Central, the comedian also said he was offered the chance to do a Super Bowl commercial, which he has also refused.
In May, ABC President of Entertainment Craig Erwich told Deadline that he was open to seeing Rock return to the stage next year. “My assessment of the Oscars was that it was really a successful year for the show. Obviously, there was a lot of controversy, which overshadowed a lot of the positive things about the show, but I was really happy with the program,” he said. “Even before that very unfortunate moment, the show started off up year over year, and we came back in a big way.”
During a roundtable interview last week, Bill Kramer, the new academy chief executive, said the group hopes to put the incident between Rock and Will Smith in the past. “We want to move forward and have an Oscars that celebrates cinema,” Kramer said. “That’s our focus right now. It’s really about moving forward.”
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has not publicly confirmed nor denied whether Rock was asked to host the 2023 ceremony.
In July, Smith released a public apology for hitting Rock in a six-minute video on YouTube taking accountability for his actions. “Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk,” Smith said. He added that he had reached out to Rock and was told the comedian was not yet ready.
Smith was banned from all academy events for 10 years because of the incident.