What Will Smith’s Mom Told Him After Oscars Slap!

When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on Oscars night, everyone was shocked — including Will’s own mother, Carolyn Smith.

Will and Chris shared a heated exchange on the 2022 Oscars stage over a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith — and it turned physical when Will slapped Chris.

Philadelphia’s ABC 6 spoke with Will’s mother, who said she was watching the show with her family in the Philly suburbs.

She said she was proud of his win for Best Actor for his role in “King Richard,” but never expected the smackdown that took place beforehand.

Carolyn said of Will losing his cool, "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.”

According to ABC reporter Sharrie Williams, Carolyn spoke with Will after the smackdown and told him, “Get some rest and go on vacation.”

On Monday, Smith issued a lengthy apology on Instagram, calling his behavior “unacceptable and inexcusable.” He wrote, “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive… 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. 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,” Will continued. “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. I am a work in progress.”

The Academy also condemned Smith’s behavior, announcing it was going to investigate actions it might take in response.

The Academy said in a statement, "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."

As listed in the Academy's Standard of Conduct, unacceptable  conduct includes "physical contact that is uninvited and, in the  situation, inappropriate and unwelcome."

The Standards of Conduct also state that if a member is found to  have violated the standards, "The Academy may take any disciplinary  action permitted by the Academy's Bylaws, up to and including suspension  of membership or expulsion from membership."

On Oscar Sunday, the Best Actor winner apologized to the Academy for what went down during a rambling, emotional acceptance speech.

He told the star-studded audience, “I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people. I know to do what we do, you got to be able to take abuse. You got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business you got to be able to have people disrespecting you. And you got to smile and you got to pretend like that’s okay.”

Without acknowledging Chris, Will said, “I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me. It’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people.

Tim and Trevor and Zack and Saniyya and Demi and Aunjanue and the entire cast and crew of ‘King Richard,’ Venus and Serena, the entire Williams family. Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams.”

Will appeared to be over his spat with Chris at the Vanity Fair Oscar party, where he reportedly danced the night away as he celebrated his big win.