It was a shocking night at the Oscars over the weekend as Will Smith and Chris Rock’s physical altercation trumped any news about the winners of the evening. Smith was seen exiting his chair before smacking Rock across the face following a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, and after the dust settled, Smith issued a formal, public apology condemning his own actions.
As the world discusses the incident, members of Smith’s family are also weighing in. In an interview with ABC6 Action News, the actor’s mother, Carolyn Smith, and his younger sister Ellen Smith talked about being proud of his Best Actor win while sharing their surprise about his behavior.
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Mom Carolyn smiled from ear to ear as she spoke about believing that her boy should have won Oscars for every one of his films
“I know how he works, how hard he works,” she said. “He never half-steps and just to see him—I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting. When I heard the name, I was just, ‘Yes!'” Carolyn also admitted that she got the family group chat buzzing with an early morning Academy Awards text to congratulate Will ahead of the ceremony. Then, with the rest of the world, the Smith family watched as Will’s demeanor took a turn and he assaulted Rock.
“He is a very even, people person,” Carolyn added. “And that’s the first time I’ve ever seen him go off. First time in his lifetime… I’ve never seen him do that.” Sister Ellen Smith suggested that people see the actor as an inspiration or “goals,” but they “really don’t know what it takes to get there.”
“Everybody kind of like, has been bullied and abused in some kind of way and I totally understand,” said Ellen. “I’ve had conversations with him, and it was like, it really kind of broke my heart listening to the things that he’s said he had to go through to get to where he is.” The family doubled down on being proud of Smith and all of his accomplishments, and they trust he’ll handle the situation appropriately moving forward.
Check out the news segment with the Smith family below.