Chris Rock has revealed that he declined an invitation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to host the Oscars in 2023. The comedian was mid-set at a show in Arizona when he spoke about turning the offer down, likening it to “returning to the scene of a crime.”

While hosting this year’s edition of the Oscars, Rock was slapped by Will Smith after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. Although Smith has made attempts to apologise to Rock personally and then via an Instagram post, Rock is yet to acknowledge the apology.

During his set at the Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix, Rock joked that the state would not sanction a fight between him and Smith as Smith was larger than him. He also likened an Oscars return to the trial of O.J. Simpson, stating that it would be like asking Nicole Brown Simpson to return to the restaurant where her mother had left a pair of glasses on the night of her death.

Meanwhile, the comedian is set to co-star alongside Javier Bardem in Look At Me, a short film about anger and humiliation, the trailer of which dropped on Deadline today.