On March 27, 2022, Hollywood actor Will Smith astounded the audience when he stepped onto the stage to slap Chris Rock, the comedian and host of Oscars 2022. Audiences from all across the globe witnesses the live event. This iconic slapgate event happened over a joke about Will Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith. While some people berated Will Smith for slapping Chris Rock, others held Chris Rock accountable for his joke regarding Jada’s medical issue.
Chris refers Oscar Stage as “scene of crime”
It has been 5 months since this incident happened. It appears, nevertheless, that the slapgate aftereffect continues to be felt. Chris recently admitted that he turned down the opportunity to host the 2023 Academy Awards. His confession came out during a comedy show at Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix. Chris apparently compared returning to Oscars Stage as returning to the scene of crime where he was slapped by actor Will Smith.
He made a reference to OJ Simpson, who was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, during the show when he remarked that returning to the Oscars would have been like returning to the site of a crime. Moreover, he said that a Super Bowl commercial proposal had also been made to him, but he had turned it down. Chris Rock carried on, making reference to Smith’s portrayal of boxer Muhammed Ali in the 2001 drama Ali, for which Smith received his first Oscar nomination. Rock declared, “He’s bigger than me.” “A fight between me and Will Smith wouldn’t be authorized by the state of Nevada.”
10 years ban from Academy
The 2022 Oscars was, nevertheless, quite a show when viewed in retrospect. The infamous Will Smith slap incident was among the unforgettable events, victories, music, and unscripted moments. A week after publicly resigning from the Academy, Smith was banned from attending any Academy activities for the following ten years by the board of governors of the Academy in April. The actor sent Rock an apology in a video some months after the incident.
