An Oscars producer has claimed that police were "on scene" and "ready to arrest" Will Smith following the now-viral moment he smacked Chris Rock.
The 53-year-old actor berated and slapped Rock at the Oscars on Sunday after the 57-year-old comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and 'G.I Jane'. Pinkett-Smith shaves her head to better cope with alopecia.
While Rock has since claimed he knew nothing about Pinkett-Smith's alopecia, and the Academy has said it attempted to kick Smith out on the night, Oscars producer Will Packer has revealed that police were already on the scene and ready to apprehend Smith.
Appearing on Good Morning America on Thursday, Packer said the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) described the attack as "battery."
"They were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment," Packer said.
"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 continued: "They were laying out the options. And as they were talking, Chris – he was being very dismissive of those options.
https://twitter.com/MichaelRapaport/status/1509303158757105669?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1509303158757105669%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joe.co.uk%2Fentertainment%2Funseen-oscars-clip-shows-exactly-how-jada-reacted-to-will-slapping-chris-rock-326778
"He was like, 'No, no, no, I'm fine.'
"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. He said no."
This seemingly matches previous statements from the LAPD that detailed Rock's refusal to press charges.
https://twitter.com/mrstanlei/status/1509266902018936833
"LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program," their statement read. "The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report."
