Chris Rock Says He Was Offered To Host The 2023 Oscars, So Naturally He Joked About It In His Stand-Up

Chris Rock has gotten a lot of attention in the last few months following the incident that happened with Will Smith at the 2022 Oscars, but one thing he probably didn’t expect to get was an invite to host the next Academy Awards ceremony. That is apparently a thing that really happened, however, and now the comedian is joking about it in his stand-up.

News of this development has been reported by the Arizona Republic (opens in new tab) (via The Hollywood Reporter), which says that Chris Rock referenced getting invited to host the 2023 Oscars during a set at Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix on Sunday night. It was an invitation that Rock refused, and – like his G.I. Jane joke – he used a reference from the 1990s to illustrate his perspective.

Rock likened the idea of hosting the 2023 Oscars to a victim being invited back to the scene of a crime, with specific mention of the murder trial of O.J. Simpson. A notable detail in that case was a pair of glasses that were left at an Italian restaurant prior to the homicide, and Chris Rock reportedly compared MCing the Academy Awards to “[asking Nicole Brown Simpson] to go back to the restaurant.”

More to come…