Chris Rock got more than he bargained for when he signed up to host the Academy Awards last year. In a shocking moment that won't be forgotten in a hurry, the comedian was slapped across the face by Will Smith after making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith's hair loss.
Although Will went on to win Best Actor for his role in King Richard, the Academy later banned the star from the ceremony for ten years. While the Fresh Prince star won't be making an appearance at the 2023 awards show, many will be wondering if Chris will be there.
WATCH: The shocking moment Will Smith slaps Chris Rock at 2022 Oscars
Back in August last year, Chris revealed that he had declined an invitation to host the 2023 ceremony during one of his stand-up comedy shows at the Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix. The 58-year-old reportedly compared accepting the hosting job to returning to the scene of a crime.
While Chris has made it pretty clear that he won't be fronting the show this year - with Jimmy Kimmel set to preside over hosting duties for the third time - will he attend as a guest?
© Photo: Getty ImagesWill Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 show
According to The Daily Beast, Chris will not be making an appearance at Hollywood's biggest night. The outlet reported that the Grown Ups star is likely to stay on the east coast, far away from the ceremony in LA.
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The report comes just days after the Academy's president addressed the institution's response to the slap at the annual Oscars Nominees Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton hotel in LA on Monday.
© Photo: Getty ImagesChris will not attend the 2023 ceremony
Reflecting on the incident, Janet Yang said: "I’m sure you all remember, we experienced an unprecedented event at the Oscars. What happened on stage was fully unacceptable and the response from our organisation was inadequate.
"We learned from this that the Academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions, and particularly in times of crisis we must act swiftly and compassionately and decisively for ourselves and for our industry. You should and can expect no less from us going forward."
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