Chris Rock Calls Oscars “A–Holes” For Never Nominating Adam Sandler

On Sunday (March 26), Chris Rock was one of many comedians and celebrities honoring Adam Sandler as he received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Joined by the likes of Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Conan O’Brien and more, Rock and other Hollywood stars paid tribute to Sandler’s decades-long career of iconic characters and movies.

But despite his impressive filmography, Sandler has never received or been nominated for an Academy Award, Rock pointed out.

“The Oscars are fucking assholes. And if they don’t want to give my man his props, we will tonight,” Rock said, before going on to call the actor “one of the greatest of all time.”

Though Sandler built his career on his sarcastic knack for comedy, his most critically acclaimed performances occurred when he tried his hand at drama. The actor most recently received a Screen Actors Guild nomination for his 2022 Netflix movie Hustle. But his performance as Howard Ratner in the 2019 Safdie brothers film Uncut Gems was considered a career-best for Sandler, though it largely went unnoticed by the Academy. Sandler did, however, receive an Independent Spirit Award for his performance.

But it looks like Sandler and the Safdie brothers are willing to give it another shot. The trio are reportedly teaming up for another movie that was set to start filming this past winter.

Though details are still unknown, Sandler told Vanity Fair last October, “I know we’re going to dedicate ourselves into working our asses off and making sure it’s as good as it can be, and I know that takes a lot of time.”

He continued, “I see how hard [Josh and Benny Safdie] work, and just like when I’m working on my comedies with my friends, it means a lot to us. Every joke means a lot. The Safdie boys, every word means a lot to them, every frame of the movie means a lot. So I don’t want to walk through anything. I care about it, and I respect those guys so much.”

In 2019, the comedian threatened to make a film that was “so bad on purpose” if he didn’t get nominated. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that again for the actor.