Chris Rock Says He Was Asked To Host Next Year’s Oscars

Chris Rock told attendees at a show in Phoenix Sunday that he was asked to host next year’s Oscars but declined the gig.

He also reportedly told guests at the Arizona Financial Theatre that he had been offered a job featuring in a Super Bowl commercial, which he turned down as well.

Rock has sold out shows around the country and abroad since the incident in March that dominated global headlines. Smith walked onto the Oscars stage, struck him and cursed at him after the comic cracked a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith ― Smith’s wife, who has alopecia ― sporting a shaved head.

Rock declined to press charges, and Smith later issued multiple apologies for attacking him.

Rock has held back from speaking openly about his side of the story, though he has joked more and more frequently about the incident in his stand-up sets in the months since. On multiple occasions, he has noted he doesn’t want to be seen as a “victim.”