Chris Rock on Possibly Hosting the Oscars Again After Slap: ‘I Live in Forgiveness’

Could the future hold a third time with Chris Rock as Academy Awards host? According to the actor-comedian, "you never know."

Three years after Will Smith notoriously slapped Rock onstage at the 2022 Oscars for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, Rock attended the Vanity Fair Oscars Party. There, the Rustin star was interviewed by E! News and asked whether he'd return as Oscars host following the assault.

"You never know. This is what I would say, the most miserable people on earth are people that can’t forgive," he said in the video below. "And not just people, you have to forgive yourself sometimes. So, hey, you never know."

"I live in forgiveness," Rock concluded. "True love starts at forgiveness."

Smith, who won Best Actor in 2022, would apologize for the incident multiple times, at least once being in a private reach out to Rock. The comedian would address the scandal by mocking The Smiths extramarital relationships during standup engagements and directly spoke about "the slap" the following year in his Chris Rock: Selective Outrage special.

"It still hurts! I Got 'Summertime' ringing in my ears,” he said. “But I’m not a victim, baby...I took that hit like [Manny] Pacquiao."

In 2022, Smith was banned from the Academy Awards and related events around the ceremony for ten years.

In a recent stand-up set at Funny Bone in Virginia Beach, Tony Rock made it clear he’s still upset about the 2022 Oscars slap involving his brother, Chris Rock, and Will Smith.

In a clip shared on Instagram, Tony told the audience, "I can't leave until I do this last thing on my list of things to do... I have to get Will Smith. Oh yeah. Y'all thought that shit was fucking over? That shit ain't fucking over. I'm just laying low right now..."