Just as the second fervor over Chris Rock getting slapped at the Oscars by Will Smith started to die down thanks to Dave Chappelle being similarly attacked on stage during a stand-up performance, ABC president Craig Erwich has opened the door to Rock being a potential host for next year’s Academy Awards ceremony.
While talking to Deadline about how pleased he was with this year’s broadcast — minus The Slap, of course — Erwhich confirmed that he’s open to Rock hosting the 2023 ceremony. It would be one way to address the topic head-on, and more importantly, get it out of the way, so the focus could return to the nominees where it belongs.
While Erwich obviously regrets what happened with Smith and Rock, he thinks the Oscars on an upswing that he hopes to see continue next year:
“It was the biggest bounce back of any award show this season. If you look at what they were trying to do, which is really bring entertainment back to the program, they had three amazing hosts, clips, and incredible musical performances, I thought it was a great way for the show to reclaim its place on the mantle. There’s always things to learn and we’ll endeavor to do even better next year.”
However, bringing Rock back as the host is a risky gamble. The comedian faced significant backlash for making a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s baldness, which was reportedly not scripted, and was the somewhat forgotten whole reason for the slapping. Rock is also in the middle of a stand-up comedy tour where he’s been wading into controversial topics. Most recently, he fired off jokes about Amber Heard and her high-profile court case involving Johnny Depp.
“Believe all women, believe all women… except Amber Heard,” Rock reportedly joked. “What the f*ck is she on? She sh*t in his bed! She’s fine, but she’s not sh*tting fine.”
Needless to say, it’ll be interesting to see if the Oscars actually pulls the trigger on letting Rock host and whether or not he gets slapped again. Both are clearly in the mix.
(Via Deadline)
