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Chris Rock is keeping his reflections on the infamous 2022 Oscars slap brief, saying he wishes the incident had never happened but does not consider it the most important thing in his life.
Rock addressed the moment in a new Variety interview published Sept. 8, more than four years after Will Smith walked onto the Oscars stage and slapped him during the live broadcast.
"Hey, man. You know, to answer your question a little bit, I wish nothing would have happened," Rock said.
He quickly shifted the focus to his upcoming film Misty Green, which marks his return to directing and stars Rosalind Eleazar as an actress fighting to revive her career while dealing with a personal crisis.
"I don't want to say anything that takes any attention away from Rosalind and how good she is in this movie," Rock explained. "It's a crazy world. We walk by homeless people. There's all sorts of s--- going on right now. Me having a bad day is not the biggest — it's not that important."
The 2022 incident occurred after Rock, who was presenting an award, joked about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head by comparing her appearance to Demi Moore's character in G.I. Jane. Smith then approached the stage and struck Rock before returning to his seat.
Smith later apologized publicly, calling his behavior unacceptable and saying he was embarrassed by his actions. The Academy subsequently banned him from attending its events for 10 years.
Rock has referenced the incident in his stand-up comedy over the years, but he said he had never considered how closely it might parallel a scene in Misty Green involving a physical altercation.
"Oh. Yeah. You know, I never even thought about it like that," he said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Rock discussed whether he would ever return to host the Oscars. He hosted the ceremony in 2005 and 2016 but suggested he may be ready to leave the role behind.
"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," he said.
As for attending the ceremony again, Rock joked that there is only one scenario that could bring him back.
"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 okay," he said. "We'll deal with that if it happens. Like, let's manage expectations."
