The producer of the Oscars ceremony said on Thursday that police were ready to arrest Will Smith after he slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars.
Read more: Defeat of Will Smith
Read more: The academy asked Will Smith to leave the ceremony, but he refused
Read more: New Viral Video: Jada Pinkett Smith reportedly burst out laughing after being slapped
Producer Will Packer was with Chris Rock when police arrived to speak to him after the incident. “We are ready to get him immediately. You can file a complaint and we can arrest him,” they told the comedian, Will Packer told ABC television.
According to him, Chris Rock did not want to come to this. Officials finished explaining his choices and asked, “Is there a way to do this?” When asked, the producer continued, “No.”
As of Sunday evening, Los Angeles Police indicated that Chris Rock had refused to file a complaint and that no case had been filed at this stage.
Chris Rock joked about the shaved head of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffered from alopecia – a disease that causes severe hair loss, which he revealed he suffered from a few years ago – which sparked outrage on Sunday night.
Will Smith suddenly took to the stage and slapped Chris Rock under the dumb eyes of celebrities and spectators.
The 53-year-old artist won the Oscar for Best Actor shortly after the incident for his performance in “The Williams Method” and later publicly apologized to Chris Rock and the Oscar Academy.
The latter has initiated disciplinary action against him and will meet again on April 18 to decide on possible sanctions.
The Academy of Oscars promised that Will Smith would be asked to leave the Oscars after the slap in the face – though by no means, under any circumstances – but the actor refused.
The excerpt from his ABC interview, which is due to air in full on Friday, said that Will Packer had not just spoken to Will Smith.
Chris Rock spoke publicly for the first time on Wednesday evening, shortly after taking the stage for a show in Boston.
“I’m still digesting what happened. So at some point I’m going to talk about these things. And it’s going to be serious and fun,” he said.
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