Comedian Chris Rock and actor Dwayne’ The Rock’ Johnson have been approached to take the high-profile gig of hosting the upcoming Emmy Awards, Deadline reports.
The star-studded offer comes after the controversial incident between Rock and Will Smith at the Oscars ceremony in February. Since then, Rock has been in high demand. BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported that the
stand-up comedian has intentionally refused to talk about the onstage assault, saying, “I have a whole show and I’m not talking about that until I get paid. Life is good. I got my hearing back” during his Ego Death Tour in April.However, Rock, who has also been requested to host next year’s Oscars, reportedly turned down the informal offer to host the Primetime Emmys on NBC. Per Deadline
, it is less likely that Johnson will take on the hosting duties.Emmy producers Done+Dusted, in affiliation with Reginald Hudlin’s Hudlin Entertainment, are said to be pursuing heavyweights within NBC/Peacock before “casting a wide net” that expands the pool of potential hosts beyond those associated with the network.
Both
entertainers, Rock and Johnson, have ties to the network. During his earlier career days, Rock was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1993. Johnson is an executive producer of his NBC comedy Young Rock, which tells the coming-of-age story inspired by the former pro wrestler’s childhood. The series has just been renewed for a third season by the network.Last year’s Emmys saw Cedric the Entertainer from CBS’ The Neighborhood take on hosting duties, which aired on the network.
The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards is expected to return to the Microsoft Theater, its home for many years, and kick off on Sept. 12 on NBC.
Which Rock should rock the stage as host?