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. A lot has happened since then, including Will Smith being banned from the Academy for 10 years, but now Chris Rock has some very good news coming his way courtesy of ABC.
During a recent exclusive interview with Deadline, ABC President of Entertainment Craig Erwich, 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. You’ll recall that Chris has previously hosted the Oscars twice before, back in 2005 and 2016.
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“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
Erwich also spoke of the ratings increase for this year’s Oscars ceremony despite the scandal:
“It was the biggest bounce back of any award show this season. 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. There’s always things to learn and we’ll endeavor to do even better next year.”
The 95th annual Academy Awards ceremony will air live on Sunday March 12, 2023 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood with nominations announced two months earlier, on January 24, 2023.
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