After Being Slapped By Will Smith At The 2022 Oscars, Chris Rock Refuses To Become A Presenter For The 2023 Academy Awards

Chris Rock (Instagram @chrisrock)

JAKARTA - Chris Rock admitted that he had refused an offer to become the presenter of the 2023 Academy Awards. This decision is of course related to the incident of slapping Will Smith at Oscar 2022.

That's what Rock said in the middle of a stand-up tour in Phoenix, Arizona. He said The Academy contacted him but he refused.

Cited from The Independent, Chris Rock calls Will Smith a figure like Muhammed Ali.

"He (Will Smith) is bigger than me," said Chris Rock.

"Nevada will not agree between my fight with Will Smith," he continued.

According to him, it is not difficult to refuse the offer. Moreover, he felt he did not want to deal with Will Smith.

He also admitted that he refused to appear in the Super Bowl. Now Chris Rock focuses more on his career as a comedian.

Chris Rock had shocked the public after being slapped by Will Smith on the Oscar stage. At that time he made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who likened his bald head to Demi Moore's haircut in "GI Jane". Pinkett Smith is known to suffer from hair loss due to alopecia.

"I want to return the focus on those who deserve to get attention for their achievements and allow Academy to return to her extraordinary work to support creativity and art in the film," Will Smith said in a statement.

Will Smith apologized after slapping Chris Rock and withdrew from The Academy. He also made a video apologizing to the Rock family for the incident.