Chris Rock has revealed the only condition on which he will ever attend another Oscars. The comedian and actor has not attended Hollywood's biggest night since 2022, when he was slapped by Will Smith on stage at the 94th Academy Awards.
American comedian and actor Chris Rock has said that he will attend Oscars again only if he is nominated and has the chance to actually win the golden statuette.
In a recent interview with Variety, Chris Rock said, "I’m not getting nominated. The only way I’ll go back is if I’m nominated, and I’m not getting nominated..And that’s OK. We’ll deal with that if it happens...Like, let’s manage expectations."
The 61-year-old was a familiar face at the Oscars, having hosted the awards ceremony in 2005 and 2006 and appearing as a presenter several times.
Things changed for Chris Rock at Oscars 2022 when fellow actor Will Smith got up on the stage to slap Chris after he seemingly made a joke about Will's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith before presenting the award for Best Documentary Feature.
Will went on to win the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in King Richard later that very night and was consequently banned from the Academy Awards for 10 years for his actions. Chris, however, was not banned but has chosen not to return to the award ceremony despite invitations.
When asked how he feels about the incident in his interview, the actor-comedian said, "I wish nothing would have happened...It’s a crazy world. We walk by homeless people. There’s all sorts of shit going on right now. Me having a bad day is not the biggest — it’s not that important."
He also hinted that he never wants to host award shows again. "They have great hosts. Conan O’Brien is amazing. Nikki Glaser is amazing on the Golden Globes...I’m not going to say never, but my time might have passed, honestly".
After the high-stakes drama that no one saw coming, Will Smith had publicly apologised to Chris Rock on social media acknowledging that he was "out of line" and "wrong". "I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness", he had said.
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