Chris Rock may have gotten himself slapped into a hosting gig.
It’s being reported that he’s being considered to host the 2023 Oscars after getting infamously slapped by Will Smith at the 2022 ceremony.
via Page Six:
ABC’s President of Entertainment Craig Erich told Deadline on Tuesday that he is open to having Rock, 57, helm the next awards show. Erich also said next year’s show, which will be held in March, will be “even better.”
The broadcast exec told the publication that he was happy with the ratings for this year, but the decision to have Rock host next time around would likely increase viewership even more.
“Obviously there was a lot of controversy [surrounding this year’s broadcast], which overshadowed a lot of the positive things about the show, but I was really happy with the program,” Erich stated. “It was the biggest bounce-back of any award show this season.”
Ratings for this year’s broadcast were up 58%, with an average 16.6 million viewers tuning in. In comparison, a paltry 9.8 million Americans watched the 2021 show.
Many people tuned in to the ceremony after Smith, 53, stormed the stage and slapped Rock across the face. The violent act was caused by a G.I. Jane joke Rock made about Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from hair loss condition, alopecia.
However, Erwich insisted that viewer numbers were already up before the slap took place, stating: “Even before that very unfortunate moment, the show started off up year over year, and we came back in a big way.”
The ceremony was hosted by Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall, with the ABC boss asserting that trio delivered for the network.
Erwich also said of the show’s producers: “If you look at what they were trying to do, which is really bring entertainment back to the program, they had three amazing hosts, clips, and incredible musical performances, I thought it was a great way for the show to reclaim its place on the mantle.”
We’re not mad at the idea.
