Oscars Producer Will Packer Reveals Chris Rock's Strong Reaction When Police Offered To Arrest Will Smith
It's been nearly a week since the slap that reverberated around the world happened, but the Academy has yet to reveal their course of action regarding Will Smith after he had smacked Chris Rock on live television.
Smith was allowed to return to his seat after he assaulted Rock, while the comedian refused to file a police report against the actor. Still, this doesn't mean that he will exit unscathed. According to Academy president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson, they are still investigating the matter, and it may take some time until they reach a final decision. "As governed by California law regarding members of nonprofit organizations like the Academy, and set forth in our Standards of Conduct, this must follow an official process that will take a few weeks," they said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter.
While there's a potentially long wait before they make their next step, it doesn't mean that they weren't ready to take action when #SlapGate happened.
Chris Rock reportedly stopped the LAPD from arresting Will Smith
The LAPD was not at all complacent after the slap. Oscars producer Will Packer told "Good Morning America" that the police were ready to arrest Will Smith if Chris Rock gave the green light and wanted to press charges — but Rock wasn't too keen on the idea.
"They were saying, 'This is battery. We will go get him ... You can press charges, we can arrest him,'" Packer recalled. "They were laying out the options. And as they were talking, Chris was — he was being very dismissive of those options." Packer continued, "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."
It looks like Rock really has no plans to let the authorities handle the situation. People close to the comedian even said that taking Smith to court is the least of his priorities. "He isn't even thinking of suing," his friend told Page Six. "He's focused on his tour." On said tour, Rock also refused to talk about the incident, but he did say that he will reveal his side in the near future. "I'm still kind of processing what happened," he said at his show in Boston, per Variety. "At some point I'll talk about that s***. And it will be serious and funny."