As the Will Smith and Chris Rock incident continues to unfold, more details about the aftermath continue to be revealed. Some reports were later denied claiming that The Academy had asked Will Smith to leave after slapping Rock on stage. The LAPD also asked Rock if he would like to have pressed charges on Smith, to which he declined.
In a preview of an upcoming interview with Good Morning America, Will Packer says that the LAPD was “fully prepared” to arrest Will Smith after he slapped Chris Rock on stage.
“They were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment. 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 said of the situation. “They were laying out the options. And as they were talking, Chris was — he was being very dismissive of those options. 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.’”
You can watch the preview for the interview below. The interview airs on GMA today.