The incident between Chris Rock and Will Smith at the just concluded Oscars will not be forgotten in a hurry.
ABC Unscripted chief; Rob Mills has confirmed that the joke by Chris Rock about Jada Pinkett Smith was not originally planned in his script.
Mills, who was in the Oscars production trailer with director Glenn Weiss at the moment Will Smith slapped Rock over the joke, broke down the situation to Variety yesterday (March 28).
“Chris Rock came on and he was doing, I think, material based on what happened that night as any comedian will do,” Mills said.
“He made the [‘G.I. Jane’] joke. Obviously, you could see the joke did not land with Jada. And then you see Will start to get up and walk-up.
“There have certainly been unpredictable moments where people have gotten up and done things, so we thought this was one of those.”
He went on to confirm the GI Jane reference was an ad-lib, and that he realized the severity of the situation when Rock and Smith started swearing.
“You started to realize this is real once Chris, who certainly knows the limits of broadcast standards, said, ‘Will Smith slapped the shit out of me,’” Mills said. “That’s when it became obvious that this was not a joke.”
The LAPD confirmed after the ceremony that Chris Rock is not planning on pressing charges against Will Smith over the incident.
“LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program,” a statement from the LAPD reads.
“The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.”