“They were saying, you know, this is assault, it was a word they used at the time,” Packer said in an interview on the show. “Good Morning America” of the ABC network.
“They said, we’re going to go after him. We’re ready. We’re ready to go after him right now,” Packer added.
During the Oscars live broadcast, Smith walked onstage after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife’s appearance and then punched the comedian in the face.
“It was as if someone had poured concrete into that room,” Packer recalled. “It was a feeling of (…) what just happened? Is this real?”
Less than an hour later, Smith gave a tearful speech accepting the best actor trophy for his role in “King Richard.”
Waiting for the action of the Academy after the incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock
A previously unrevealed brief virtual reunion between Will Smith and the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, David Rubinand the executive director Dawn Hudson on March 29 could be causing a new crisis in the organization of the Oscars.
The six-minute zoom call started by the star of “King Richard” Rubin and Hudson primarily saw Smith apologize, once again, for punching Rock during Sunday’s live television broadcast.
Members of the Academy’s Board of Governors who met yesterday to begin disciplinary proceedings against Smith were shocked by the news because they were unaware of this call.
“Why would they hide this from us?” exclaimed an informant who participated in Wednesday’s board meeting replicated the site Deadline. “It only contributes to an atmosphere of suspicion and lack of leadership.”
With seemingly contradictory information now circulating about how Smith was allegedly asked and refused to leave the Dolby Theater after hitting Rock, efforts by the nearly 50-member Board of Governors to find an appropriate solution to the situation for their upcoming meeting scheduled for April 18 could be fractured based on news of Rubin and Hudson’s March 29 virtual meeting with Smith. The winner of the Oscar for best actor King Richard has at least 15 days notice from yesterday before the vote on the violations and sanctions of him, to be previously heard by means of a written response.
“What else don’t we know about what’s going on or what happened on Sunday?” another well-positioned member of the Academy stated about the interaction between Smith, Rubin and Hudson.
Ron Howard Reacts To Will Smith, Chris Rock Oscars Snafu: ‘I Wouldn’t Have Expected This’
“This lack of transparency undermines our ability to come to a proper resolution to the entire matter,” the Academy member added.
Source: Ambito
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