Next year’s Oscars could see a huge spike in ratings if Chris Rock agrees to host the ceremony, as ABC’s President of Entertainment Craig Erich says he is open to having the comedian take on the hosting duties. In an interview with Deadline, Craig revealed to the publication that if the 57-year-old does decide to take on the opportunity, the Oscars will undoubtedly be “even better,” and so will its viewership.
While the media executive said he was happy with the ratings of this year’s awards show, which saw a whopping 16.6 million tune in and witness the infamous Will Smith incident involving Chris, it’s believed that by having the Death at a Funeral star take center stage next year, the ceremony’s viewership could be much higher than what it was in February. “Obviously there was a lot of controversy [surrounding this year’s broadcast], which overshadowed a lot of the positive things about the show, but I was really happy with the program,” Craig gushed.
“It was the biggest bounce-back of any award show this season.” He also touched on his thoughts of having three people host the Oscars, as seen three months ago with Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, and Amy Schumer. “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.” If Chris agrees to helm the hosting role next year, it would be his third time doing so, having previously taken on the responsibility when he hosted in 2005 and 2016.
View this post on Instagram
Chris was caught up in quite the controversy after making a joke about Will’s wife Jada Pinkett-Smith’s buzzcut, unaware that the Red Table Talk host has been struggling with alopecia, a medical condition which causes one to lose their hair. Upon making the quip, Will got out of his seat, hopped onto the stage and slapped his industry peer across the case, before telling Chris to “keep my wife’s name out your f*****g mouth.”
The incident caused the Hancock star, who won the award for Best Actor that same night, to face a 10-year ban from the Oscars and all other Academy events, with a statement saying he had expressed “unacceptable and harmful” behavior when he physically assaulted Chris.
“Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation. The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards,” an official letter from the Academy read.