The professionalism and composure shown by comedian Chris Rock after being slapped by Will Smith on the Oscars stage kept the ceremony going, the event’s producer said in an interview aired Friday. .
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“It was because Chris handled that moment with elegance and poise that we were able to continue the show,” Will Packer told ABC television.
After being slapped, the comedian had quickly chained, presenting as expected the trophy for best documentary. He then preferred to play appeasement, refusing to file a complaint against Will Smith that the police were ready to arrest for his gesture.
“It kind of allowed us to continue the show, which we wanted to do,” said Will Packer.
It was a joke by Chris Rock about the close-cropped hair of Jada Pinkett Smith, wife of Will Smith suffering from a disease causing significant hair loss, which had triggered the scandal on Sunday evening.
Will Smith suddenly took the stage and slapped Chris Rock under the dumbfounded eyes of celebrities and viewers.
The 53-year-old artist was rewarded shortly after the incident with the Oscar for best actor for his role in “The Williams Method”.
The Academy of Oscars has launched disciplinary proceedings against Will Smith and assured that he was asked to leave the room after the slap, but that the actor refused.
Will Packer explained on ABC that he had recommended not deporting Will Smith after speaking with Chris Rock.
“I immediately went to see the leaders of the Academy who were there and I said: + Chris Rock does not want that +. I said: + Rock has been very clear that he does not want to make the situation any worse +”, said the producer.
According to him, Chris Rock also explicitly refused to allow the police to arrest Will Smith, refraining from filing a complaint against him.
Will Smith has since publicly apologized to Chris Rock and the Academy, saying his behavior was “unacceptable and inexcusable”.
Chris Rock spoke on the subject for the first time on Wednesday evening, shortly after arriving on stage for a show in Boston.
“I’m still digesting what happened. So at some point I’m going to talk about this stuff. And it will be serious and funny,” he said.