The producer of the 94th Academy Awards has recently explained what took place in the moments surrounding Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. In the upcoming episode of Good Morning America, Will packer revealed how the debacle unfolded at the awards show after the Academy said, Smith was asked to leave. A preview of the interview aired Thursday on World News Tonight with David Muir. Packer told ABC News.
Packer said he didn’t speak to Smith at all that night, but he recounted his meeting with Rock, and officers from the Los Angeles Police Department, who explained they could arrest the Best Actor Oscar winner if the comedian wanted to press charges. Packer recalled, “They were saying, ‘This is battery’ the word they used at that moment. They said, ‘We will go get him. We are prepared to get him right now, you can press charges. We can arrest him.’ They were laying out the options.”
Oscars producer Packer added, “And as they were talking, Chris was being very dismissive of those options. He was like, ‘No, I’m fine.’ Even to the point where I said, ‘Rock, let them finish.’ The LA Police officers finished laying out what his options were, and they said, ‘Would you like us to take any action?’ And he said, ‘No.'”
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The controversy unraveled after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss. Smith then walked onto the stage and smacked Rock in the face, leaving the audience and live viewers around the world stunned. The King Richard star, who won Best Actor for his performance in the movie, apologized to the Academy in his acceptance speech that night.
He later shared a public apology for Rock. After an initial statement, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that they “condemn” Smith’s actions and have “officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law.”