The slap that consumed the 2022 Academy Awards is not something Chris Rock seems interested in carrying forever. More than four years after Will Smith struck him onstage, Rock says he wishes the confrontation never happened, but he no longer considers one terrible night particularly important in the larger picture of his life.
Rock addressed the incident while speaking with Variety about his upcoming film Misty Green, which he wrote and directed. When asked how he feels about the Oscars now, he initially made clear that he did not want an old controversy taking attention away from the movie or its star, Rosalind Eleazar.
“I wish nothing would have happened,” Rock said. He then put the experience against problems far removed from Hollywood. “It’s a crazy world. We walk by homeless people. There’s all sorts of sh*t going on right now. Me having a bad day is not the biggest, it’s not that important.”
That answer is considerably shorter than what Rock had to say when he finally addressed Smith at length during his 2023 Netflix special, Selective Outrage. After largely avoiding public discussion of the slap for nearly a year, he used the closing portion of the stand-up special to unload on Smith and reject the idea that he viewed himself as a victim. Netflix billed the live event, its first of its kind, as including Rock’s thoughts on the confrontation.
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Chris Rock Isn’t Planning An Oscars Return Either
Rock’s reluctance to revisit the slap also extended to questions about returning to the Academy Awards. He has hosted the ceremony twice, in 2005 and 2016, but said he is not particularly eager to take the job again. Rather than campaign for another turn, Rock praised Conan O’Brien and Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser and said his time as an awards-show host may have passed.
Attending is another matter. Rock joked that he would return to the Oscars if Misty Green somehow earned him a nomination, though he quickly dismissed the likelihood. “The only way I’ll go back is if I’m nominated, and I’m not getting nominated,” he told Variety. “And that’s okay.”
Smith struck Rock during the March 2022 ceremony after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Smith returned to his seat and shouted at Rock before later accepting the Best Actor Oscar for King Richard. The Academy subsequently barred Smith from its events for 10 years. Smith also apologized publicly, saying in a video months later that his behavior was “unacceptable” and that he had attempted to contact Rock.
