The slap that dominated the 2022 Academy Awards doesn’t appear to be something Chris Rock plans to carry with him forever. More than four years after Will Smith hit him onstage, Rock says he wishes the confrontation had never happened, but he no longer sees that one awful night as something particularly significant in the bigger picture of his life.
Rock discussed the incident while speaking with Variety about his upcoming film Misty Green, which he wrote and directed. When asked about his feelings toward the Oscars now, he quickly made it clear that he didn’t want an old controversy to overshadow the movie or its star, Rosalind Eleazar.
“I wish nothing would have happened,” Rock said. He then compared the experience to much bigger issues happening outside Hollywood. “It’s a crazy world. We walk by homeless people. There’s all sorts of sh*t going on right now. Me having a bad day is not the biggest, it’s not that important.”
His latest comments are much more brief than his remarks about Smith during his 2023 Netflix special, Selective Outrage. After mostly steering clear of the slap publicly for nearly a year, Rock devoted the closing portion of the stand-up special to addressing Smith, pushing back on the idea that he saw himself as a victim. Netflix promoted the live event, its first of its kind, as featuring Rock’s perspective on the infamous confrontation.
Rock’s hesitation to revisit the slap also carried over to questions about returning to the Academy Awards. He has hosted the ceremony twice, in 2005 and 2016, but doesn’t seem particularly interested in taking on the role a third time. Instead of pushing for another hosting gig, Rock praised Conan O’Brien and Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser, suggesting that his days as an awards-show host may be behind him.
Showing up as a guest, however, is a different story. Rock joked that he’d make his way back to the Oscars if Misty Green somehow landed him a nomination, although he immediately acknowledged how unlikely that would be. “The only way I’ll go back is if I’m nominated, and I’m not getting nominated,” he told Variety. “And that’s okay.”
Smith struck Rock during the March 2022 ceremony after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Smith then returned to his seat and shouted at Rock before going on to accept the Best Actor Oscar for King Richard. The Academy later banned Smith from attending its events for 10 years. Smith also publicly apologized, saying months later in a video that his behavior was “unacceptable” and that he had tried reaching out to Rock.
