Chris Rock Says He Turned Down an Offer to Host 2023 Oscars After Will Smith Slap: Report

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Chris Rock says he declined an invitation to host the 2023 Academy Awards after he was infamously slapped by Will Smith during this year's award ceremony back in March.

During a comedy set at the Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday, the actor, 57, compared going back to the Oscars to returning to the scene of a crime, according to the Arizona Republic.

While discussing the hosting offer, the comedian made a reference to the 1995 murder trial of O.J. Simpson, noting it would be like asking the late Nicole Brown Simpson "to go back to the restaurant" where her mother had left a pair of glasses the night of her death.

Getty (2) Chris Rock (L); Will Smith

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Rock said that Smith's slap itself hurt referencing the actor's turn as Muhammed Ali in the 2001 movie Ali, and explaining, "He's bigger than me. The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith."

The star — who previously hosted the Oscars in 2005 and 2016 — added that he also turned down the opportunity to appear in a Super Bowl ad following the slapping incident.

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Representatives for Rock and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences did not immediately return PEOPLE's request for comment.

Earlier this month, new Academy CEO Bill Kramer revealed that the Oscars don't intend to revisit the incident at next year's ceremony.

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"We want to move forward and to have an Oscars that celebrates cinema. That's our focus right now, but it's really about moving forward," said Kramer, who began his position in July following the exit of former CEO Dawn Hudson.

During the March 27 broadcast, Smith, 53, walked onto the stage and hit Rock after a joke made by the comedian about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. (The actress, 50, lives with alopecia.)

The slap led to months of fallout for the Best Actor winner, who resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was banned from attending Academy events for 10 years.

The King Richard star apologized to Rock in a statement on Instagram the following day, before posting an apology video on his social media accounts July 29, explaining that night and apologizing directly to Rock and his family.

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"I've reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he's not ready to talk, and when he is he will reach out," Smith said. "So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk."

Rock has not officially commented on the televised physical assault, but has referenced the slap onstage in several stops of his latest comedy tour.

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"Everybody is trying to be a f---ing victim," Rock said during a show at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta in July. "If everybody claims to be a victim, then nobody will hear the real victims. Even me getting smacked by Suge Smith ... I went to work the next day, I got kids." (Rock's reference of Smith as "Suge Smith" appeared to be a play on the name of currently jailed Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight.)

"Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face," Rock added at the time.