Will Packer says the LAPD were prepared to arrest Will Smith for the slap heard around the world.
“They were saying, ‘This is battery,’ was the word they used in that moment,” Packer told Good Morning America.
“[The officers] said ‘we will go get him, we are prepared to get him right now. You can press charges and we can arrest him.'”
WAS THE SLAP FAKE??
Chris Rock did not press charges.
The Academy claims they asked Will Smith to leave but that he refused.
“Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated,” The Academy told the Associated Press. “While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently.”
Packer also explained why he joked about the slap on social media.
“Black people have a defiant spirit of laughter when it comes to dealing with pain because there has been so much of it. I don’t feel the need to elucidate that for you,” Packer remarked. “But I also don’t mind being transparent and say that this was a very painful moment for me. On many levels.”
