The One Thing That Could Get Chris Rock To The Oscars

Chris Rock has revealed the one thing that could get him to return to the Oscars following the infamous 2022 moment Will Smith slapped him during the live awards telecast. More than four years after Smith approached ceremony host Rock on stage and hit him in the face for making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, the comedian and Misty Green director responded to a line of questions from Variety regarding whether or not he’s since been asked to return.

“When people answer those questions, they’re being disrespectful to the people that got the gig,” the 61-year-old replied. “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.”

On whether or not he’s thought about returning to the main show amid positive buzz for Misty Green, which is out Oct. 9 and stars Rosalind Eleazar as an actress angling for a comeback, Rock was adamant about 2027 not being the year for a potential repeat appearance at the Oscars.

“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 okay,” Rock replied. “We’ll deal with that if it happens. Like, let’s manage expectations.”

He later elaborated, telling the publication that, “I wish nothing would have happened” in the first place, after Smith’s slap made headlines around the world.

And also, I don’t want to say anything that takes any attention away from Rosalind and how good she is in this movie,” Rock continued. “It’s a crazy world. We walk by homeless people. There’s all sorts of s— going on right now. Me having a bad day is not the biggest — it’s not that important.”

Smith and Rock have both referenced the moment in subsequent years. Smith even alluded to it on his 2025 album Based on a True Story (his first solo LP in 20 years).

“You can’t cancel no icon,” one line said on a song from the album, while another posed the question, “Who the f— Will Smith think he is? And that boy damn crazy how he raising them kids.”

Source: EW