Oscars Producer Thought Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock Was Staged
A producer of the Oscars describes how he initially thought Will Smith slapping Chris Rock was a planned bit. The incident, which has dominated entertainment headlines since it aired, occurred during the presentation of the Best Documentary Feature, when Rock made a joke about a Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Smith’s reaction was initially quite light-hearted, appearing to laugh, but moments after he walked onto the stage and slapped Rock in the face, before taking his seat and shouting at Rock to "keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth." Less than an hour after the slap, he was once again on stage receiving the Best Actor award, for which he received a standing ovation.
Smith’s actions have been widely criticized by industry figures and the actor has apologized in social media. Peers that have criticized the event include Jim Carrey, who said that he thought it was ‘sickening’ and that he would have sued Smith, and Kathy Griffin, who mentioned how it made her feel concerned about the possibility of more on-stage confrontations. Similar condemnation has come from the Academy, although they did not take any action against Smith during the ceremony.
Speaking with Good Morning America, producer Will Packer, one of the key Academy figures who allowed Smith to stay, explains how he thought the incident was a planned bit. When Packer saw the slap at the end of Rock’s ad-libbed jokes, he thought that the two men had planned the moment, but quickly realized that it was in fact genuine. He describes the moment as shocking, stating that he had never felt as immediately devastated in his life.
“He didn’t tell one planned joke. I thought this was something that Chris and Will were doing on their own. I thought it was a bit. … We hadn’t practiced it... My heart dropped. I remember thinking, ‘Oh no. Not like this.’ … I’ve never felt as immediately devastated as I did in that moment.”
According to Packer, the decision to allow Smith to stay for the remainder of the ceremony was all down to Rock’s insistence and that, despite the LAPD being ready to physically remove him, the comedian was clear that he didn’t want to escalate the situation any further. Packer did however express regret that Smith didn’t apologize directly to Rock in his speech. He is also not the first individual to express shock that it wasn’t planned, as many commentators pointed to the lack of security intervention as an indicator that it must’ve been staged.
Most people who made this assumption have theorized that that it was a stunt cooked-up in order to draw more viewers to the Oscars, which has seen a rapid drop in its audience. Despite this being untrue this year’s ceremony was more memorable than its predecessors but for all the wrong reasons, and Smith’s act of senseless aggression has distracted from some truly notable events. For instance, directly after the slap Summer of Soul deservedly won the documentary award but the audiences attention couldn’t have been less focused. Combined with the historic victory for CODA, the 2022 awards might have been marked as a true step forward, but instead it left viewers with a sour note that overshadows the hard-earned achievements of many.
Source: Good Morning America