Source: Handout / Getty
FINALLY, we are getting more clarity on The Oscars slap and hearing from people who directly know what happened after the now-infamous moment.
Will Packer, who produced this year’s Oscars, spoke exclusively with Good Morning America on April 1 and shared what he experienced during and after the moment Will Smith decided to smack fire out of Chris Rock. In the interview with T.J. Holmes, Packer revealed that Rock was freestyling and “did not get to one joke” pre-written and displayed on the teleprompter. “He did not tell one of the planned jokes. He was immediately freestyling,” Packer said.
Like many of us who saw it all go down live, Packer didn’t think something serious was going to go down when Smith stepped on the stage.
Per Vulture:
Packer says that when Will Smith first stepped onstage he “thought this was part of something that Chris and Will were doing on their own.” “I thought it was a bit like everybody else […] I wasn’t concerned at all,” he continued. “I figured, okay, he’s going to say something or come at him. Something funny’s gonna happen because that’s the nature of Chris, and that’s the nature of Will.” But when Smith started yelling at the stage with real anger, his “heart dropped. I just remember thinking, Oh no, oh no, not like this.” Us too!
Packer also revealed that Rock could have had Smith arrested for slapping him (it was assault) but opted not to. Packer told Holmes that he met with both Rock and officers from the Los Angeles Police Department in his office after the incident occurred. “They said, ‘We will go get [Smith]. We are prepared, we’re prepared to get him right now. You can press charges, we can arrest him,” he said. Packer said that Rock was “very dismissive” of that option, confirming the actor/comedian did not want to press charges against Smith.
Since the incident, there have been plenty of opinions from those in attendance, Twitter dragging and cancelations, plus tons of conflicting reports. The Academy said that Smith refused to leave the venue after being asked, with TMZ reporting that wasn’t the case. “During one of the commercial breaks, we’re told Oscars producer Will Packer walked up to Will and said, “We do not want you to leave” … this according to our sources,” sources told the celebrity gossip site.
Packer told ABC News that he did not speak with Will Smith the night of The Oscars. Will Smith has since apologized to Chris Rock, and Rock has touched on the subject during a stand-up comedy show in Boston, telling the crowd “he is still processing the situation.”
It looks like “the slap” will continue to be the talk of the town for April as well.
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Photo: Handout / Getty
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