In response to the brawl between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars 2022, Chris Rock is reportedly refusing to host the Academy Awards in 2023. The comedian stated that the Academy contacted him, according to the Arizona Republic, when he discussed the topic during a recent performance at the Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix.

Regarding the murder trial of O.J. Simpson, whose ex-slaying wife started with her leaving a pair of eyeglasses at an Italian restaurant, Rock reportedly compared accepting the Oscars hosting role to going back to the scene of a crime during his programme. As Nicole Brown Simpson, Rock compared asking her to return to the Oscars to asking her to "go back to the dinner."

Will Smith smacked comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars 2022 as he was presenting the Best Documentary Award after Rock made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith. Smith apologised for the slapping incident in an Instagram post, and earlier this month, the actor also published a video in which he did the same for Chris, saying, "Chris, I apologize to you. My behaviour was unacceptable and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk." The actor in his video also added, "I am deeply devoted and committed to putting light and love and joy into the world. And, you know, if you hang on, I promise we'll be able to be friends again."

The Academy decided to ban the actor from attending the awards event for ten years after the slapping incident. A week after Smith publicly announced his resignation from the Academy, the decision was made public.

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