Chris Rock is making it clear that the only way he will be returning to the Oscars is if he has a nomination waiting for him.
More than four years after Will Smith slapped him during the live 2022 Academy Awards, Rock, 61, said he has no plans to return for the 2027 ceremony unless his work earns him a spot among the nominees.
“The only way I’ll go back is if I’m nominated, and I’m not getting nominated,” Rock told Variety. “And that’s okay.”
The comedian and director is currently promoting Misty Green, out October 9, but said he is keeping expectations low about awards recognition.
Rock also addressed whether he could ever host the Oscars again, a role he previously held in 2005 and 2016.
“I’m not going to say never, but my time might have passed, honestly,” he said, addressing Smith walking onstage and slapping him after a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith.
“I wish nothing would have happened,” said Rock, adding that he would rather attention stay on Misty Green star Rosalind Eleazar than on a incident he considers small compared with larger problems.
“Me having a bad day is not the biggest,” he continued. “It’s not that important.”
Smith later publicly apologized, saying, “I was out of line and I was wrong.”
