Oscars producer says LAPD was prepared to arrest Will Smith after slap
Police were ready to arrest Will Smith after he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars on Sunday, but Rock said no, show producer Will Packer said.
In an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” set to air Friday, Packer detailed what allegedly happened after Smith struck the comedian in a spectacle watched by millions.
“They were saying, you know, this is battery was the word they use in that moment,” Packer told the show in the interview, part of which aired on ABC World News Tonight on Thursday.
“They said, we will go get him. We are prepared. We’re prepared to get him right now. You can press charges. We can arrest him,” Packer said. “They were laying out the options, and as they were talking, Chris was — he was being very dismissive of those options. He was like, ‘No, I’m fine.’ He was like, ‘no, no, no.’”
The Los Angeles Police Department has previously said that Rock declined to file a police report.
At Sunday’s ceremony, Smith walked on stage and slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Rock said that he was looking forward to seeing Pinkett Smith in “G.I. Jane 2.”
In 2018, Pinkett Smith revealed that she had been diagnosed with alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss. The film “G.I. Jane” stars Demi Moore as a woman who shaves her head during military service.
Smith on Instagram apologized to Rock on Monday.
On Wednesday, Rock told a sold-out crowd in Boston, that he was “still kind of processing what happened,” adding that at some point, he would discuss the incident further but wasn’t ready just yet.
The LAPD said in a statement Sunday that it was aware of the incident at the Academy Awards but that “the individual involved has declined to file a police report.” The police department said that if that changes, they would be available to complete a police report.
Packer also said in “GMA” interview that Rock declined.
“The LAPD officers finished laying out what his options were, and they said, you know, ‘would you like us to take any action?’ And he said no,” Packer said in the clip that aired Thursday.
Packer told ABC he did not directly speak to Smith the night of the Oscars.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Wednesday that Smith was asked to leave Sunday night’s ceremony but refused to do so.
The academy also said it has initiated disciplinary proceedings. It told members in a letter that its board of governors “will now make a determination on appropriate action for Mr. Smith,” and that the process could take a few weeks.
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.