Comedian Chris Rock has decided not to host the Oscars again after dispute with Will Smith.
The singer revealed that he turned down the offer to host the prestigious awards for their 2023 edition. During one of his comedy gigs at the Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix, the star admitted going to Oscars again would be like returning to a crime scene.
Chris added going back would be like the 1995 murder trial of O.J. Simpson, adding that it would be asking late Nicole Brown Simpson “to go back to the restaurant” where her mother had left a pair of glasses the night of her death.
Meanwhile, Academy CEO Bill Kramer shared his positivity around moving past the Oscars incident. “We want to move forward and to have an Oscars that celebrates cinema. That’s our focus right now, but it’s really about moving forward,” said Kramer, who began his position in July following the exit of former CEO Dawn Hudson.
Read more: ‘Ready to face consequences for slapping Chris Rock’: WIll Smith on Oscar incident
Smith-Rock fiasco
For those unversed with the entire ordeal, it occurred after Chris Rock, the award show presenter, started poking fun at Will Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett, and her alopecia. At the time, he branded her GI Jane 2, in response to her baldhead, and simultaneously incited an enraged reaction by the actor who could be heard saying, on live television, “Keep my wife’s name out of your [expletive] mouth”.
Read also: ‘I was out of line’: Will Smith finally apologises to Chris Rock
