Chris Rock says he declined invite to host the 2023 Oscars Awards.

Chris Rock claims he turned down an offer to host the Oscars in 2023.

The comedian who previously hosted the Academy Awards in 2005 and 2016 has declined to return to host following the incident at this year’s ceremony when he was slapped by Will Smith on stage after making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Rock was performing a stand-up comedy show in Phoenix, Arizona over the weekend when he addressed the situation.

It’s said he also revealed he was asked to do a Super Bowl commercial in the aftermath of the incident, but also turned down the offer.

An audience member urged him to “talk about” the slap, and he referenced Smith’s role as Muhammad Ali in 2001’s ‘Ali’.

He added: “He’s bigger than me. The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith.”