Will Smith’s Mom Reacts to Chris Rock Oscars Slapping Incident

When Will Smith won the Oscar for his lead role in King Richard, his mother, Caroline Bright, was thrilled he’d finally received an Academy Award. 

“I know how he works, how hard he works,” she said in a recent interview with WPVI-TV/6abc. “And he never half steps….And I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting. And when I heard the name, I was just, ‘Yes!'” 

Of course, she also saw what came before, when Will slapped Chris Rock onstage after the comedian, who’d been presenting the award for Best Documentary Feature Film, made a G.I. Jane joke about the actor’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, who has a shaved head and has spoken about her alopecia diagnosis in the past. Once he returned to his seat, Will told Chris to “keep my wife’s name out your f–king mouth.”

Just like the rest of the viewers, Caroline was shocked by what had taken place. “He is a very even, people person,” she told WPVI-TV/6abc, “and that’s the first time I’ve ever seen him go off. The first time in his lifetime….I’ve never seen him do that.”