May 19, (THEWILL) – Actor and standup comedian, Chris Rock, has been pencilled down to host the 2023 Academy Awards.
According to ABC Network president, Craig Erwich, partners with the Academy Awards ceremony, the streaming platform is very open to the comedian coming back to host the 2023 Oscars, despite the drama that went down during this year’s edition.
In a recent interview, the President of the network said that despite the intense controversy that followed the Oscars slap, the network is fully open to Chris Rock hosting next year’s awards show.
The decision is likely due to many industry insiders praising how Chris handled the situation despite being assaulted live on stage.
“My assessment of the Oscars was that it was really a successful year for the show. Obviously there was a lot of controversy, which overshadowed a lot of the positive things about the show, but I was really happy with the program. Even before that very unfortunate moment, the show started off up year over year, and we came back in a big way”, Erwich said.
It’s been almost two months since the unfortunate slap seen around the world occurred, when Will Smith shocked audiences by slapping Chris Rock during this year’s Oscars ceremony.
Following this, a lot has happened including Will being banned from the Academy for 10 years.
