Chris Rock isn’t likely to talk openly about the notorious Oscars slap any time soon. Rock recounted the incident between him and Will Smith at the 2022 Academy Awards, according to January Harrison, the founder of January Designs and Creations, who was present at Rock’s exhibition in Phoenix on Sunday. Rock, she added, was emphatic about avoiding talking about the slap in public.
As many people will recall, Smith smacked Rock in the face at the Academy Awards when he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith before presenting the prize for Best Documentary Feature.
Harrison claimed that Rock told the crowd that Oprah Winfrey had asked him to sit down for an interview to talk about the incident, but he had declined.
He did mention declining an invitation to appear on Oprah for a sit-down interview and even a Super Bowl ad with Will Smith himself, Harrison said. “You won’t catch me sobbing uncontrollably in any interviews, he declared. I won’t let myself become a victim.”
Harrison said that the audience appeared to be delighted that Rock talked about the Oscars slap in general, adding, “We were all probably unsure whether he would discuss that incident or not.
Rock also disclosed on Sunday that he had been approached about hosting the Oscars in the upcoming year. Rock, who has hosted the awards presentation twice (first in 2005 and again in 2016), reportedly told the audience that he was requested to host the event the next year but declined.
One eyewitness reported that Chris Rock claimed he was declined the opportunity to host the Academy Awards the following year during his Sunday night performance at the Arizona Financial Theatre. He also mentioned that he was given the opportunity to appear in a Super Bowl ad, which he similarly turned down.
Rock reportedly equated hosting the Oscars to going back to the scene of a crime, according to the eyewitness who spoke with ET. Rock was alluding to the murder trial of O.J. Simpson, who was convicted of killing his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.
Chris made light of the situation, saying that going back to the Oscars would be like going back to the scene of the crime and that it would be like asking Nicole Brown Simpson to go to the Italian restaurant where she left her glasses.
Even while he acknowledged that getting punched by Smith hurt much more than words, he went on to make light of the situation. Another witness claimed that Rock referred to Smith as “Suge Smith” and that he joked about the event for “a few minutes” while keeping his allusions to it “short and classy.”
Smith apologized for the now-famous Oscars slap scandal to Rock, the comedian’s family, as well as his own family and friends, in a very private video apology posted to social media on July 29.
He also disclosed that he had contacted Rock. But according to Smith, “the message that came back” was that the comedian wasn’t ready to talk yet and would get in touch when he was.
Following Smith’s apologies, a source told ET that Rock had no plans to communicate with the King Richard star, suggesting that Smith may be waiting a while.
According to the insider, Smith would die for Rock to publicly accept his apologies, but he will have to wait.
The source further asserted that Chris has no plans to get in touch with Will and that the timing of the apology is more for Smith’s benefit. He requires pardon from the general population, not from Chris.
While Rock is performing on stage for his continuing comedy tour, he is not yet ready to return to the platform of an awards ceremony. In actuality, Rock has declined opportunities to perform at award shows before. The comedian turned down the opportunity to host the 2022 Emmy Awards, ET revealed last month.
According to the source, Rock was asked to host this year’s Emmys but declined the offer. He is currently on tour and getting ready for the fall filming of his comedy special, according to the source.
That’s not all, though. After his comedy tour, Rock hopes to travel and keep a low profile since, according to the insider, he is “done” Hollywood.
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