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April 1 (UPI) — Oscars telecast producer Will Packer will be seen discussing the Will Smith-Chris Rock altercation on Friday’s edition of Good Morning America on ABC, the network that also aired Sunday’s awards ceremony.
In a teaser clip released ahead of Packer’s GMA appearance, he is asked if it is true Rock had the option to go have Los Angeles police officers arrest Smith for slapping him because Smith didn’t like a joke Rock made about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Packer replied, “That is an absolute fact.”
“They were saying, you know, ‘This is battery,’ was the word they use in that moment,” Packer added.
“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.’ They were laying out the options and as they were talking Chris was being very dismissive of those options. He was like: ‘No, I’m fine. No, no, no.’ Even to the point where I said, ‘Rock let them finish.'”
Moments after hitting Rock and yelling expletives at him, Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in the film King Richard and received a standing ovation from the celebrity crowd.
Smith and Rock attended separate Oscars after-parties later in the evening, and Smith issued a public apology to Rock the next day for his behavior.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said it is investigating the incident and still figuring out what consequences, if any, Smith will face for his actions.
