While the 2022 Oscars was one for the books, due largely in part to...well, you know, talks are already beginning for next year’s festivities. Top of mind, of course, is exactly who will be taking on the role of hosting next year’s ceremony, and we now have a good idea of who won’t be taking the stage: Chris Rock.
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Per the L.A. Times, during a comedy set in Arizona over the weekend, the comedian and Fargo actor recently explained he was approached to host the 2023 Oscars but decided to turn it down—likening it to “returning to a crime scene.” Show attendees at the Arizona Financial Theatre said that Rock then referenced the O.J. Simpson murder trial and said that coming back to the event would be like “asking Nicole Brown Simpson to go back to the restaurant where she left her eyeglasses before being killed.”
Would it really though??? I mean, OK, I get it. ‘You’re a comedian, you speak in hyperboles for shock and awe. It’s a part of your schtick.’ But damn. This joke is just...not funny. It’s actually off-putting. And isn’t the goal to AT LEAST be funny?? Like, as a comedian, why are you making ignorant statements like this and further egging on a situation that I thought we all moved on from three months ago instead of actually being funny? What gives?
But whether Rock hosts or not, it’s clear the Academy is ready to move on from the debacle and is looking forward to making next year’s show amazing. Speaking to reporters in a round table discussion last week, a chief executive for the organization, Bill Kramer, reiterated the desire for evolution.
“We want to move forward and have an Oscars that celebrates cinema,” Kramer said. “That’s our focus right now. It’s really about moving forward. We definitely want a host. A host is very important to us. We are committed to having a host on the show this year, and we are already looking at some key partners on that.”
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