Oscars organizers were hoping Will Smith would apologize to Chris Rock on stage after he slapped the comedian for making a joke about his wife — but Rock saved the night with his “grace,” the award show’s producer said Friday.
Producer Will Packer said Rock “handled the moment with such grace and aplomb” and allowed the show to continue with his cool demeanor.
“It allowed the show to continue and if he had handled that differently in that moment — which it could have gone so many different ways — and because Chris continued the way that he did, he completed the category … It gave us license in a way to continue the show, which is what we were trying to do,” Packer told “Good Morning America.”
Rock ultimately “saved” the Oscars, Packer said.
“I think he did,” he continued. “He certainly saved what was left of it at that point.”
Los Angeles police went to the Dolby Theatre after actor Will Smith smacked comedian Chris Rock, the producer said.
“They were saying, you know, this is battery,” Packer said of the slap heard around the world.
Officers were ready to take Smith into custody, Packer said.
“They said we will go get him,” he continued. “We’re prepared to get him right now. You can press charges. We can arrest him.”
But Rock was “very dismissive” of that course of action, Packer said.
“He was like, ‘No, I’m fine,’” the producer recalled. “He was like, ‘No, no, no.’”
Packer also told the program he did not speak directly with Smith, contradicting earlier reports that he told the actor he could stay after Smith stormed the stage and smacked Rock.
“Shayla told me that they were about to physically remove Will Smith and I had not been a part of those conversations,” he said, referring to his chief of staff, Shayla Cowan.
“And so I immediately went to the Academy leadership that was on site and I said Chris Rock doesn’t want that. I said, Rock has made it clear that he does not want to make a bad situation worse.”
Rock, 57, wasn’t consulted on whether to bounce Smith, 53, after the on-stage smackdown, sources have told The Post.
“No one ever asked Chris if Will should leave,” one insider said. “They never consulted him. It was the Oscars producer Will Packer who made the final decision to let Will stay.”
TMZ reported Thursday that Packer told Smith he could stay at the Dolby Theatre, where producers and Academy officials weren’t in agreement.
“We do not want you to leave,” Packer told one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, according to the report.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had claimed in a letter to members Wednesday that Smith “refused” to leave the ceremony, where he took home the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for “King Richard” — while getting a standing ovation in the process.
Smith, meanwhile, will be able to state his case in a written response to the Academy before its board meets again on April 18. He faces disciplinary action that could include expulsion, suspension, or other sanctions.
