Chris Rock declined 2023 Oscar hosting gig?

Comedian and actor Chris Rock was offered the gig of hosting next year’s Oscars but turned it down…according to Chris Rock.

No official word has come in from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences as to whether or not they actually asked Chris Rock to host the 95th Academy Awards. They are scheduled for March 12, 2023.

Infamously, Chris Rock was slapped at this year’s Oscars by eventual Best Actor winner Will Smith, who could take a joke about his wife…until he noticed his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, couldn’t. It marked one of the most shocking moments in Academy Awards history, right up there with Marisa Tomei winning a statue! (Just kidding, we love you, Marisa!)

At a concert this past Sunday in Phoenix, Chris Rock told the audience that he declined the supposed offer, jokingly likening it to Nicole Brown Simpson “[going] to the restaurant”, a moment tied closely to her murder. He also went into the noticeable size difference between himself and Will Smith. “He’s bigger than me…The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith.”

There could be a potential strategy by hiring Chris Rock, as viewership of the ceremony went up 1.5 million viewers after the slap. Then again, it was still the second least-watched ceremony in Oscars history. Chris Rock previously hosted the 2005 and 2016 Oscars.

Will Smith has since apologized for the slap. “I’ve reached out to Chris, and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk, and when he is, he will reach out.” He has been banned from the Oscars for 10 years.

Chris Rock is currently on his Ego Death World Tour, which will conclude in November.

What are your thoughts? Would you like to see Chris Rock host the Oscars next year?