Responding to One Controversy, Chris Rock Creates Another

Chris Rock won't be back to host the Oscars next year, at least according to his own telling, and yes, it appears to be linked to "the slap." The 57-year-old comedian performed Sunday night at Phoenix's Arizona Financial Theatre, which is where he informed the crowd that he'd been asked to once more take on hosting duties for next year's awards show, an offer he says he refused. At first, it wasn't clear whether Rock would talk about how Will Smith had assaulted him on stage at last year's show, and whether that had weighed in to his decision. But the "sold-out crowd seemed primed to hear him address it," reports the Arizona Republic, which notes one person even yelled out, "Talk about it!"

And so he did, telling the audience that the slap, well—it hurt. "He's bigger than me," Rock noted. "The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith." The comedian also explained why the hard hit was keeping him from hosting duties in 2023, saying it was like asking Nicole Brown Simpson, the ex-wife of OJ Simpson who was brutally killed in 1994, "to go back to the restaurant" where she'd dined before her murder. It's that joke that now has Rock in the crosshairs of controversy on social media, with commenters accusing him of insensitivity and misogyny, reports Yahoo Entertainment.

"Chris Rock spends way too much time punching down on women," one critic tweeted, noting that Rock has previously riffed on both Brown Simpson and Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith's wife. "I think I understand where Will Smith was coming from better," another posted, asking the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to suspend Rock. Yet another wrote, "I hope domestic abuse survivor and victims are ok tonight." Others didn't seem to mind his joke. People notes that Rock hasn't officially commented on the incident at last year's Oscars, though he's briefly made light of it during previous shows in his current comedy tour. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences hasn't yet responded to requests for comment on Rock's claim. (More Chris Rock stories.)