Chris Rock has claimed that Oscars organisers have invited him to host next year’s ceremony following the drama he found himself at the centre of during this year’s award show.
However, the US comedian said that he turned them down, whilst making a distasteful joke about the late Nicole Brown Simpson in the process.
Back in March, Chris was a guest host during the Academy Awards, when he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s buzzcut after seeing her in the audience.
Jada’s husband Will Smith then came on stage to defend his wife – who has previously spoken about her experience of hair loss due to alopecia – and slapped the comic in a moment that made headlines the world over.
During a stand-up show in Arizona this week, local media reported that Chris told the audience that Oscar bosses had asked him if he’d like to host next year’s Academy Awards having previously helmed the event twice before.
However, he claimed that doing so would be like asking Nicole Brown Simpson “to go back to the restaurant”, referring to the moments leading up to her murder in 1994.
Chris also said of the former Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air star: “He’s bigger than me… the state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith.”
The slap led to Will Smith being banned from the Oscars for a decade, a week after announcing his resignation from the Academy.
Oscars chief Bill Kramer recently told The Hollywood Reporter that, unlike most of the ceremonies in recent years, the Academy Awards were “committed to having a host” next year and are “already looking at some key partners on that”.
He added that the Will Smith/Chris Rock debacle would not be a topic he’d be keen to see referenced during the show.
“We want to move forward and to have an Oscars that celebrates cinema,” he insisted. “That’s our focus right now.”