WILL Smith’s mom Carolyn shared her shock at seeing him slap Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars.
Carolyn, 85, admitted she has never seen her 53-year-old son “go off” like that and was startled by the incident.
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Will, 53, shocked audience members and viewers at the Oscars when he slapped Chris onstage for making a joke about his wife Jada’s shaved head.
Carolyn, who still lives in Philadelphia, said she dressed up to watch the LA ceremony from her home and was taken aback by Will’s behavior
“He is a very even, people person,” she told local news station Action News on Monday.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him go off. First time in his lifetime. I’ve never seen him do that.”
She revealed she spoke to Will on Monday following the dramatic altercation and told him to get some rest and go on vacation.
“I am proud of him being him,” she said.
Will accepted the Best Actor award for his role in the film King Richard shortly after hitting Chris.
Carolyn said he deserved the gong, adding: “I know how he works, how hard he works. And he never half steps.
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“I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting. When I heard the name, I was just, ‘Yes!”
“I thought he should have been given one [an Oscar] for all of them [his films].”
Will’s younger sister Ellen Smith, 50, added that she was confident the Fresh Prince star would overcome the current scandal.
She said: “I’ve had conversations with him, and it like really kind of broke my heart listening to the things he’s said he had to go through to get to where he is.”
SHOCKING SLAP
On Sunday night, Will hit Chris after the standup comic, 57, referenced Jada’s shaved head, saying: “Jada, I love you, G. I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.”
Matrix actress Jada, who first revealed she suffered from hair loss condition alopecia in 2018, rolled her eyes at the joke and looked upset – which appeared to prompt Will into action.
Stars including Nicole Kidman and Lupita Nyong’o looked horrified as he stormed the stage and hit the presenter hard across the face.
The Fresh Prince star then walked back to his seat as a stunned Chris said: “Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me.”
Will yelled at the comedian: “Leave my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth.”
Chris looked visibly shaken and said: “Wow, dude, it was a G.I. Jane joke,” to which Will repeated, “Keep my wife’s name out your f**king mouth!”
Chris said, “I’m going to, okay?” before adding, “That was the… greatest night in the history of television.”
It is believed that Chris has not spoken to Will since the incident.
The duo have yet to make amends following the incident as Chris reportedly went straight to his dressing room after leaving the stage.
According to TMZ, the comedian was not aware that Jada suffers from alopecia when he made the joke.
WILL’S APOLOGY
Will finally apologized to Chris almost a full day after the incident, calling his actions “unacceptable and inexcusable”.
He wrote on Instagram: “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable.
“Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong.”
He continued: “I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.
“I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world.”
He added: “I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.”
Will concluded his message: “I am a work in progress.”
KEEPING THE AWARD
Whoopi Goldberg, who is the Governor of the Academy’s Actors branch, defended Will’s actions on Monday and insisted he won’t be stripped of his award.
She said on The View: “We’re not going to take that Oscar from him.
“There will be consequences I’m sure, but I don’t think that’s what they’re going to do, particularly because Chris said ‘Listen, I’m not pressing any charges.'”
An official spokesperson said on Monday: “The Academy condemns the actions of Mr Smith at last night’s show.
“We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law.”
The statement confirms The Sun’s earlier story that chiefs held top secret emergency talks over whether to strip Smith of his Best Actor gong.
Insiders said furious members of the Academy joined the meeting by Zoom and demanded the Men In Black star also be kicked out of the prestigious organisation over his antics.
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