Oscar producer Will Packer wanted his Oscars to be a memorable one. He just didn’t want them to be remembered for a nominated actor slapping a former host.
So this morning, he tweeted his reaction to the slap heard around the world with, “Welp…I said it wouldn’t be boring #Oscars”
Needless to say, someone chimed in with it that it is not funny to make a joke about assault. To which Packer told that person, “Black people have a defiant spirit of laughter when it comes to dealing with pain because there has been so much of it. I don’t feel the need to elucidate that for you. But I also don’t mind being transparent and say that this was a very painful moment for me. On many levels.”
I met Packer once at a press event, and I really liked him. I wish the Oscars could’ve gone better for him. But he never had a chance, and Will Smith destroyed whatever chance he had. But hey, at least they didn’t screw up the Best Picture award. So there is that.
