Comedian Chris Rock revealed to have rejected a proposal from the Hollywood Academy to present the Oscars next year, shortly after the slap that Will Smith gave him at the last edition of these awards.
Rock spoke about the offer during a stand-up show held at the Arizona Financial Theater in Phoenix (Arizona, United States) on Sunday, as reported by the Arizona Republic.
The comedian said he rejected the offer because it would be like "returning to the scene of the crime" and compared it to the murder committed by former American football player O. J. Simpson against his wife Nicole Brown.
"It would be like asking Nicole Brown Simpson to return to the restaurant," Rock stated, referring to the crime committed by the athlete after she left her glasses at an Italian restaurant.
Rock referred to the slap that Will Smith gave him at the beginning of his show in Phoenix, which is part of the "Ego Death" tour he started last April.
With a crowded theater enjoying his hour and a half-long show, Rock began talking about how a person could become famous after becoming a victim.
Then, according to the Arizona Reporter, someone from the audience asked him to "talk about it" and Rock ended up recounting the incident.
The comedian also claimed that the punch from Smith caused him physical pain because the Oscar-winning actor is "bigger" and more muscular than him. "The state of Nevada wouldn't allow a fight between Will Smith and me," he joked.
Rock also mentioned during his show that he was approached to star in a commercial for the next edition of the Super Bowl and also turned it down, although he did not reveal which brand the commercial was for.
At the last Oscars ceremony, on March 27, Will Smith reacted violently to a joke by Chris Rock about his wife's illness, Jada Pinkett Smith, which made him get up from his seat, go up on the Dolby Theater stage, and slap Rock live on stage.
Rock had come out to present the award for Best Documentary and m ade a joke about Pinkett Smith's shaved head, who had publicly admitted to suffering from alopecia, comparing her to Lieutenant O’Neil from Ridley Scott's film.
At the end of July, Smith released a video in which he apologized to the comedian for what happened, after his wife had made various public appearances urging them to reconcile.
"Chris, I apologize. My behavior was unacceptable and I'm here to talk whenever you're ready," Smith stated at the time.
Furthermore, in April, the Academy's Board of Governors approved a ban on his attendance at the Oscars, and any other event organized by the institution, for the next ten years.
A week earlier, the actor had already resigned from being a part of the Academy, ruling out his immediate expulsion as the main punishment.