EXCLUSIVE: 'It was like someone poured concrete in that room.' Oscars producer Will Packer tells GMA that Will Smith striking Chris Rock 'sucked the life out of that room and it never came back.'
In an exclusive interview with ABC News' TJ Holmes, airing Friday on"Good Morning America," Packer said the Los Angeles Police Department was ready to arrest Smith at the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday night after he got up from his seat, walked on stage and slapped Rock for"That is an absolute fact," Packer said."The LAPD made it clear: 'We will do whatever you want us to do, and one of the options is that we will go and arrest him right now.
MORE: Oscars 2022: Will Smith apologizes to Academy in acceptance speech after Chris Rock confrontation 'But my heart at that point was just in my stomach, because of everything about it and what it represented and what it looked like and who was involved," he added."All of that was just -- I never felt so immediately devastated like I did in that moment."Will Smith hits at Chris Rock as Rock spoke on stage during the 94th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, March 27, 2022.
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