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Don\u2019t expect\u00a0Chris Rock\u00a0to be emceeing\u00a0the Oscars anytime soon. According to multiple eyewitnesses, Rock revealed during his Sunday night show in Phoenix, that he was asked to host next year\u2019s show, but refused.<\/p>\n
As many will remember, it was at the 2022 Academy Awards that\u00a0Will Smith\u00a0slapped\u00a0Rock in the face\u00a0after he made a joke about\u00a0Jada Pinkett Smith\u00a0before presenting\u00a0the award for Best Documentary Feature.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cChris Rock said he was asked to host next year\u2019s Academy Awards at his Sunday night show at Arizona Financial Theatre, and that he refused the offer,\u201d one eyewitness shared.\u00a0\u201cHe also noted that he was offered the chance to do a Super Bowl commercial that he also declined.\u201d<\/p>\n
The eyewitness\u00a0also told ET that Rock compared hosting the Oscars to\u00a0returning to the scene of a crime, referencing the murder trial of O.J. Simpson, who was accused of killing his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.<\/p>\n
\u201cChris joked that returning to the Oscars would be like returning to the scene of the crime and said that it would be similar to asking Nicole Brown Simpson to go back to the Italian restaurant where she left her glasses,\u201d the eyewitness added.<\/p>\n
He continued to make light of the incident, though he did admit that getting hit by Smith hurt, a lot more than words do. Calling Smith \u201cSuge Smith,\u201d another eyewitness\u00a0said Rock talked about the incident for \u201ca few minutes in a joking way\u201d but kept his references to it \u201cshort and classy.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Rock spoke about the incident during his show, eyewitnesses told ET that Rock has no plans to speak to \u201cany big outlet\u201d or do a \u201csit down interview\u201d to speak about what happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cChris also said he will never do a sit down interview with anyone, like Oprah or any big outlet, and complain or speak about what happened,\u00a0because he will never be a victim,\u201d a separate eyewitness added.<\/p>\n
On July 29, Smith shared\u00a0a\u00a0deeply personal video message\u00a0to social media\u00a0in which he apologized to Rock and the comedian\u2019s\u00a0family, as well as his own family and friends, for\u00a0the now-infamous Oscars slap scandal.<\/p>\n
He also revealed that he had\u00a0reached out to Rock. However, \u201cthe message that came back,\u201d Smith said, was that the\u00a0comedian was not ready to talk and would reach out when he is.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It seems like Smith may be waiting a while, with a source telling ET following Smith\u2019s apology, that\u00a0Rock has no plans to speak with the\u00a0King Richard<\/em>\u00a0star.<\/p>\n The source said\u00a0that Smith would love nothing more than for Rock to publicly accept his apology, but Smith will have to wait on it. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cChris has no plans to reach out to Will,\u201d said the source, who also believes that the timing of the apology is more for Smith\u2019s\u00a0best interest. \u201cHe needs the public\u2019s forgiveness, not Chris\u2019.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n While Rock is hitting the stage for his ongoing comedy tour, the awards show stage is not one he\u2019s ready to step back on.\u00a0In fact, this\u00a0isn\u2019t the first awards show opportunity Rock has turned down. Last month, ET learned that\u00a0the\u00a0comedian\u00a0declined an\u00a0offer to host\u00a0the 2022 Emmy Awards.\u00a0<\/p>\n The source\u00a0revealed\u00a0that Rock was approached to host this year\u2019s Emmy\u2019s but turned down the job. \u201cHe\u2019s in the middle of his tour and is preparing for the taping of his comedy special, which will be taping this fall,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not all.\u00a0The source added\u00a0that Rock\u00a0is \u201cover\u201d Hollywood and is hoping to travel and lie\u00a0low after his comedy tour.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n