Chris Rock calls Oscars ‘f—ing a–holes’ for never nominating Adam Sandler

“We all work hard, but nobody works as hard as the Sandman.”

While honoring his fellow comedian and Saturday Night Live costar at a ceremony for the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday, Rock, who turned down hosting the 2023 Oscars after being slapped by Will Smith at last year’s awards, called the Academy a bunch of “f—ing a–holes” for never nominating Sandler.

Rock, who has previously hosted and presented at the Academy Awards, lambasted the awards body for its failure to honor the Sandman for a powerful performance in the 2019 film Uncut Gems — or any of the comedian’s other impressive film work.

“They don’t want to give my man his props, we will tonight,” Rock said of Sandler, who he called “one of the greatest of all time.”

Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. MONICA SCHIPPER/GETTY IMAGES

Sandler has never won, nor been nominated, for a single Oscar throughout his decades-long film career, despite receiving rave reviews for his dramatic turns in Uncut Gems, Punch-Drunk Love, and The Meyerowitz Stories. In 2020, EW’s Jessica Derschowitz argued that the disconnect might stem from the fact that “many still associate him with the goofy man-children he’s played in films like Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and all those Netflix originals people apparently keep watching.”

“[Uncut Gems] works as well as it does because of Sandler’s ability to subvert the comedic roles we’ve always known him for and make this character both larger-than-life and incredibly human,” she wrote. “A guy you root for because of and despite the mess he’s found himself in.”

In the lead-up to the 92nd Academy Awards, Sandler joked that if he didn’t receive a Best Actor nod for Uncut Gems, he would go out and make a movie that was “bad on purpose just to make you all pay.” While he didn’t secure the nomination, Sandler did end up winning an Independent Spirit Award for the role the same year.

During his speech, Rock, who’s been close friends with Sandler for over 30 years, also recalled that Sandler was one of the first people to embrace him at a time when he was one of the few Black comics in their shared social scene. The star was one of multiple celebrities that sang Sandler’s praises Sunday evening, joining the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Pete Davidson, Drew Barrymore, David Spade, and more.
The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor honoring Adam Sandler airs Sunday, March 26 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CNN.
Additional reporting by Andy Hoglund