Chris Rock on Will Smith slap: 'I wish nothing would have happened'

Chris Rock is taking a notably measured tone when discussing the infamous 2022 Oscars slap. 

Telling Variety he wishes the moment had never happened at all while making clear he doesn't want it to overshadow more pressing things in the world. 

"Hey, man. You know, to answer your question a little bit, I wish nothing would have happened," Rock said. 

"And also, I don't want to say anything that takes any attention away from Rosalind and how good she is in this movie. It's a crazy world. We walk by homeless people. There's all sorts of shit going on right now. Me having a bad day is not the biggest, it's not that important."

The comments mark a shift from how Rock initially processed the incident, which he addressed more directly and pointedly in his 2023 Netflix special Selective Outrage, where he insisted he wasn't a "victim" despite the public nature of the moment. 

His latest remarks came while promoting Misty Green, his first directorial project in over a decade, premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival. 

The film stars Rosalind Eleazar as a once-famous actress grappling with the reality that her career has faded, and Rock's comments suggest he's more focused on protecting attention for his star and the new project than revisiting the Smith incident.