Not only is Chris Rock not hosting the 2023 Oscars despite being asked, but also he will be going nowhere near the ceremony this year. Confider spoke with the famed comedian, who hosted the Oscars in 2005 and 2016, as he lunched solo on Friday at La Esquina in SoHo, and he told us that he will not head to L.A. next month for “Hollywood’s biggest night.” Instead, he’ll likely stay back here on the east coast—far far away from the stage where he got open-palm slapped by Will Smith during last year’s ceremony. Rock seems to still be recovering from that bonkers incident, which he described to Confider as the “weirdest” moment of his career.

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