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Will Smith’s 85-year-old mother said she was stunned by the actor’s meltdown during the Oscars and that him slapping Chris Rock was “the first time she’d ever seen him go off.”
Carolyn Smith told 6ABC that she and her family gathered around the TV in the suburbs of Philadelphia to watch the show after getting up early in the morning.
“I started out saying, ‘Good morning, we’ve got to say good luck to Uncle Will,” Smith told the outlet, referring to a message she sent on the family’s group chat.
But as they waited for the Best Actor to be announced, Will stormed the stage after Rock cracked a “G.I. Jane 2” joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s baldness, which is caused by alopecia.
The actor proceeded to slap Rock before returning to his seat and hurling an expletive-laden attack at the stunned comic.
“He is a very even, people person. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him go off. First time in his lifetime… I’ve never seen him do that,” Carolyn Smith told 6ABC.
“I know how he works, how hard he works…I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting. When I heard the name, I was just, ‘Yes!’” she added, referring for the moment he won the trophy for his role in “King Richard.”
Will Smith’s younger sister Ellen Smith told the outlet she’s watched him always excel under pressure and under the harsh Hollywood spotlight.
“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,” she told 6ABC.
Despite Smith’s on-stage drama, his family said they are convinced he will take the right path moving forward.
“I am proud of him being him,” Carolyn Smith said.
On Monday, her son issued a public apology to Rock for the attack, which is now the subject of a “formal review” by the award show’s organizers.
Rock has declined to press charges.
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