“They were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment,” Packer stated in a clip launched by ABC News Thursday evening of an interview he gave to “Good Morning America.” “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.”
But Packer stated Rock was “very dismissive” of the concept.
“He was like, ’No, no, no, I’m fine,” Packer stated. “And even to the point where I said, ‘Rock, let them finish.’ The LAPD officers finished laying out what his options were and they said, ‘Would you like us to take any action?’ And he said no.”
Will Smith hits Chris Rock on stage whereas presenting the award for greatest documentary function on the Oscars. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
The LAPD stated in an announcement after Sunday evening’s ceremony that they have been conscious of the incident, and that Rock had declined to file a police report. The division declined remark Thursday on Packer’s interview, an extended model of which can air on Friday morning.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences met Wednesday to provoke disciplinary proceedings towards Smith for violations towards the group’s requirements of conduct. Smith could possibly be suspended, expelled or in any other case sanctioned.
The academy stated in an announcement that “Mr. Smith’s actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television.”
Without giving specifics, the academy stated Smith was requested to depart the ceremony on the Dolby Theatre, however refused to take action.
Smith strode from his entrance row seat on to the stage and slapped Rock after a joke Rock made about Smith’s spouse, Jada Pinkett Smith, when he was on stage to current the Oscar for greatest documentary.
On Monday, Smith issued an apology to Rock, the academy and to viewers, saying “I was out of line and I was wrong.”
The academy stated Smith has the chance to defend himself in a written response earlier than the board meets once more on April 18.
Rock publicly addressed the incident for the primary time, however solely briefly, firstly of a standup present Wednesday evening in Boston, the place he was greeted by a thunderous standing ovation. He stated “I’m still kind of processing what happened.”
