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Chris Rock ‘STOPPED police arresting Will Smith’ after Oscars slap as show producer says they were ‘on scene and ready’
AN Oscars producer claims cops were "on scene and ready to arrest" Will Smith after he slapped Chris Rock at the awards show.
The incident went down after the Grown Ups star cracked a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith's shaved head.
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Oscars producer Will Packer addressed the recent slapping incident on .
In a preview for the interview, he told T.J. Holmes that the Los Angeles Police Department was on scene at the awards show on Sunday.
He claimed they were ready to arrest the I, Robot actor after he hit the host.
During the interview, he said: "They were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment.
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"They said, 'We will go get him. We are prepared. We're prepared to get him right now. You can press charges, we can arrest him;"
Packer went on: "They were laying out the options. And as they were talking, Chris – he was being very dismissive of those options.
"He was like, 'No, no, no, I'm fine.'
"And even to the point where I said, 'Rock, let them finish.' The LAPD officers finished laying out what his options were and they said, 'Would you like us to take any action?' And he said no. He said no."
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In the same clip, Packer said he was not in direct contact with Smith the night of the Oscars.
The LAPD released a statement following the incident, revealing that Chris declined to press charges.
"LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program," the statement began.
"The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report."
The statement continued: "If the involved part desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report."
PUNISHMENT COMING?
Earlier this week, the Academy announced that the slap had been deemed a violation of their code of conduct.
Smith, who was nominated for his role in King Richard, was asked to leave the awards show in the wake of the slap.
He refused, however.
In a statement released to the Hollywood Reporter on March 30, reps for the Oscars confirmed that "disciplinary hearings" had begun as a result of the incident.
The Academy's message read: "Mr. Smith's actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television. Mr. Rock, we apologize to you for what you experienced on our stage and thank you for your resilience in that moment.
"We also apologize to our nominees, guests and viewers for what transpired during what should have been a celebratory event."
The statement continued: "Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated. While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handles the situation differently."
TMZ that a pair of Oscars officials – David Rubin, President of the Academy, and Dawn Hudson, the CEO – were the ones who asked the actor to leave.
Another portion of the statement revealed: "The Board of Governors today initiated disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy's Standards of Conduct, including inappropriate physical contact, abusive or threatening behavior, and compromising the integrity of the Academy.
"Mr. Smith is being provided at least 15 days' notice of a vote regarding his violations and sanctions, and the opportunity to be heard beforehand by means of a written response."
In a memo, the Academy said that at the "next board meeting on April 18" they plant to take "any" disciplinary action including "suspension, expulsion, or other sanctions."
ROCK WITH IT
Chris returned to work days after he hosted the prolific awards show.
The actor kicked off a show in Boston this week by saying: "How was your weekend?" with a chuckle.
The audience began cheering and hooting as he went on.
"I don't have, like, a bunch of s**t about what happened, so if you came to hear that...I had, like, a whole show I wrote before this weekend and I'm still kind of processing what happened," he said.
Chris promised: "So, at some point I'll talk about that s**t and it will be serious and funny."
The audience again got loud, as some began chanting: "F**k Will Smith."
The comic didn't feed into the frenzy, instead continuing on with his show.
THE SLAP
During Sunday's Oscars, Smith rushed on stage and hit Chris – serving as host – after the comic made a joke about Jada's buzzed hairstyle, saying: "Jada, I love you, G. I. Jane 2 can't wait to see it."
The actress, who revealed earlier that she suffered from alopecia years earlier – a condition that causes hair loss – rolled her eyes.
After slapping the show's host, Smith walked back to his seat and Chris yelled: "Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me."
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Will shouted from his seat: "Leave my wife's name out of your f**king mouth."
Chris appeared shaken, saying: "Wow, dude, it was a G. I. Jane joke."
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