The Chris Rock and Will Smith slap incident will be remembered as the viral Oscar moment for many years to come. After Smith slapped Rock during the ceremony for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, the former was announced to be the Best Actor in a leading role for his movie King Richard. However, Smith paid the price for his actions in the heat of the moment. He resigned as a member of The Academy prior to being banned from attending Oscars for 10 years.
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It is learnt that Smith is now seeking therapy for anger issues and aiming at deep healing. The Bad Boys actor was also in India earlier. Meanwhile, it is learnt that Rock, who was assaulted by Smith on the Oscars stage, may be up for a hosting gig at the upcoming Academy Awards.
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Craig Erwich, who is President of Entertainment at ABC, the network that broadcasts the Oscars ceremony, has hinted that they are open to the idea of Rock hosting the ceremony in 2023. The Spiral actor has previously hosted the Oscars ceremony twice in 2005 and 2016.
As per Deadline, Erwich said that it was a “really successful year for the show” despite the slap incident involving Smith and Rock. He said, “My assessment of the Oscars was that it was really a successful year for the show. Obviously, there was a lot of controversy, which overshadowed a lot of the positive things about the show, but I was really happy with the program,” he said.
In the same interview, he was also open to the idea of Rock hosting the show. The 95th edition of the Academy Awards will take place on March 13, 2023. The annual award ceremony will take place at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will air live on ABC in more than 200 territories around the world.
