Chris Rock Reveals His 1 Condition for Attending the Oscars Following Will Smith Slap

Chris Rock is gearing up for the Toronto International Film Festival debut of his new movie, 'Misty Green,' which marks his fourth time directing a film. Recently, while promoting the movie, which centers on a woman who slaps a colleague, he was asked for his thoughts on the 2022 Oscars incident, when Will Smith approached him on stage and slapped him after a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. Chris Rock Has No Plans To Attend The Oscars Following Will Smith Slap 5 Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency / MEGA Rock spoke to Variety in September ahead of 'Misty Green' premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival. During the conversation, the comedian was asked if he'd been approached about hosting the Oscars again after his 2022 duties at the ceremony, when Smith approached the stage and then struck him. He responded by first defending his colleagues who had been selected to lead the show in subsequent years. According to him, 'When people answer those questions, they're being disrespectful to the people that got the gig.' Rock went on, 'They have great hosts. Conan O'Brien is amazing. Nikki Glaser is amazing on the Golden Globes. I'm not going to say never, but my time might have passed, honestly.' From there, he was asked about his thoughts on returning to the ceremony in general, and the actor said he wouldn't attend until he scored a nomination. He said, 'I'm not getting nominated. The only way I'll go back is if I'm nominated, and I'm not getting nominated. And that's OK. We'll deal with that if it happens. Like, let's manage expectations.' The 'Fargo' Alum Glossed Over The Topic Of Will Smith 5 Lumeimages / MEGA Rock's interview with Variety continued, and the comedian was asked about Smith. Specifically, the reporter asked how he feels about the ordeal four years later. He responded, 'Hey, man. You know, to answer your question a little bit, I wish nothing would have happened.' The 'Misty Green' director added that he'd prefer not to detract from the conversation surrounding the upcoming movie and its lead actress, Rosalind Eleazar. He continued, 'It's a crazy world. We walk by homeless people. There's all sorts of shit going on right now. Me having a bad day is not the biggest — it's not that important.' Chris Rock Discussed The Slap In His 2023 Netflix Special 5 MEGA Rock's Netflix special, 'Selective Outrage,' was released in 2023 following the Oscars slap with Smith. Per ABC News, he addressed the infamous incident by first joking, 'I'm going to try to do a show tonight without offending nobody. I'm going to try my best, because you never know who might get triggered.' He added, 'People always say words hurt. Anybody who says words hurt has never been punched in the face.' After that, Rock proclaimed he wasn't a 'victim,' despite the world watching what happened on stage at the Oscars. According to the actor, 'You all know what happened to me, getting smacked by Suge Smith. It still hurts. I got 'Summertime' ringing in my ears. But I'm not a victim, baby. You'll never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying… I took that hit like Pacquiao.' The Comedian Says He's Forgiven Will Smith 5 ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA More recently, Rock attended an Oscars after-party in March 2026, roughly four years after being slapped while on stage. There, he spoke to E! News, which asked whether he'd moved on from the encounter. Rock responded, 'I live in forgiveness. True love starts at forgiveness.' After that, he was asked if he'd consider hosting the ceremony again, which would make it his third time. He said he hasn't ruled out the prospect, adding, 'You never know.' The 61-year-old then said, 'This is what I would say: the most miserable people on earth are people that can't forgive. And not just people, you have to forgive yourself sometimes. So, hey, you never know.' Chris Rock Recently Opened Up About His Time on 'Saturday Night Live' 5 MEGA While speaking to Variety about 'Misty Green,' Rock was also asked about his three-season tenure on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live.' Notably, his comments come after he was featured in the recent Lorne Michaels documentary, 'Lorne.' He discussed the film, saying, 'It's the best doc ever where you don't learn one thing about the guy. The most interesting people in the world, who do not tell you about him. But I met Lorne Michaels and haven't been broke a day since. That is my guy.' Rock recalled, 'Chris Farley and me and Adam [Sandler] and David Spade shared an office. We would go, 'Oh, let's make a McDonald's run.' 'Carolyn Bessette's here tonight! You gonna talk to her?' 'No, you talk to her.' Then she came in with JFK. 'Oh, that's what she's going for.'' He added, 'It was a magical time. All you remember are the friendships. I didn't go to college, but those would have been the years I was in college.'