I’m Will Smith’s friend and I know the real reason he snapped at the Oscars – it was a traumatic memory from his past

WILL SMITH has issued a grovelling public apology to Chris Rock – as he battles to save his career.

The actor, whose Oscar win is “under review” following his now infamous slap, confirmed his behaviour was “unacceptable and inexcusable”.

However, according to sources involved with the King Richard star’s recent memoirs, he was “triggered” to react violently on Sunday night by traumatic childhood abuse.

Friends of the 53-year-old claim he was propelled into action after feeling helpless aged nine while witnessing his father Willard Carroll Smith Sr beat up his mum Caroline and doing “nothing”.

When comedian Chris mocked wife Jada’s alopecia, Will is said to have been “taken back to childhood, and snapped”.

A source close to Mark Manson, who co-wrote Will’s 2021 memoir called Will, said last night: “Will knows he’s battling to save his career, his reputation and even his Oscar.

“He’s horrified by the turn of events and is filled with a deep sense of shame.

“He is happy to have some more therapy for his unresolved childhood issues and will do what he can to make good on his momentary lapse in judgment.

“Essentially, though, Will was deeply triggered by Chris’s demeaning comments about his wife’s alopecia. He was taken straight back to childhood, seeing his mum getting abused by his dad.

“This time he didn’t take it sitting down — and retaliated as, unfortunately, 50million people across the globe all saw.”

The Academy on Monday confirmed The Sun’s report that it was holding an internal review following the dramatic incident.

After the award ceremony, it had tweeted: “The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.”

On Monday evening, LA time, Will released a formal apology on Instagram. He wrote: “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive.

“My behaviour at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a 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 apologise to you, Chris. I was out of line.”

Will, who scooped Best Actor for his portrayal of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams’ father Richard in King Richard, then went on to say sorry to the Williams family, who have since said they do not condone hitting anyone unless it is self-defence.

The Philadelphia-born star, who married stunning actress Jada, 50, in 1997, added: “I deeply regret that my behaviour has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us. I am a work in progress.”

As Will doubtless now embarks on a string of PR rehabilitation stunts, those close to him are quietly directing fans to his autobiography, which details his abusive childhood.

In it, he says the beating was the single moment that shaped his childhood and made him feel like a “coward (for) failing my mother”.

In contrast, while he observed his dad’s violence and bullying, his younger brother Harry was unafraid to stand up to their father.

'A COWARD'

As a result, Will developed the deep belief he was “a coward”, which has haunted his later life — and he says he was triggered by people he believed were fearless and “hard”.

He explains that these feelings could prompt jealousy and lead to him hiding behind humour.

He reflects on his first day at senior school: “I was always talking, always joking — I never shut up. I talked not because I had anything particularly important to say but because I was afraid.

“It began to dawn on me that my over-compensation and fake bravado were really just another, more insidious, manifestation of the coward.”

In the official blurb for the book, however, the authors are at pains to claim that, thanks to extensive therapy and self-help, Will has “mastered” his emotions.

It reads: “This memoir is the product of a profound journey of self-knowledge, a reckoning with all that your will can get you and all that it can leave behind. Will is the story of how one exceptional man mastered his own emotions, written in a way that can help everyone else do the same.

“Few of us will know the pressure of performing on the world’s biggest stages for the highest of stakes, but we can all understand that the fuel that works for one stage of our journey might have to be changed if we want to make it all the way home.”

Will himself proudly boasted he had learnt to handle fame — and his demons. In the official press release, he wrote: “It’s easy to manoeuvre the material world once you have conquered your own mind.

“Once you’ve learned the terrain of your own mind, every experience, every emotion, every circumstance — whether positive or negative — simply propels you forward to greater growth and greater experience. That is true will. To move forward in spite of anything.

“And to move forward in a way that brings others with you, rather than leave them behind.”

Judging by this weekend’s performance, Will still has some mind terrain to master.

'CORE TRAUMA'

Speaking recently on TV Stateside as he promoted the book, he said, tellingly: “My father was abusive with my mother. And just on my young mind, it became imprinted.

“It’s like, what kind of kid stands there and lets somebody hit their mother and they don’t do anything, you know?

“And that became really the core trauma of my childhood that my personality and my persona became to form around, to be the opposite of that, you know? I was never going to be scared again.”

In the book, Will also addresses suffering “internal conflict” of not speaking publicly about the abuse while his dad, a US Air Force veteran and refrigeration engineer, was alive because he was his “hero”.

He claims there were two sides to his dad and that he was the driving force for his career, helping encourage his talent, and was “not an ogre”.

In one poignant section of his memoir Will says he contemplated suicide aged 13 when his mother, a school administrator, left after another attack by his dad.

He adds how he never expected to follow his father’s physical violence — his anger comes out in “emotional violence” instead. Aged 14 he claims he had a spiritual moment when his cocky nature prompted another schoolkid to attack him and get expelled.

He insisted that moment led to an awakening that he never “would walk into a room and do anything other than inspire, uplift and enlighten and help people be the greater versions of themselves”.

Fittingly, Will, who made up with his dad six weeks before his death in 2016, accepts his life will always be “full of ups and downs” and that making mistakes is part of the journey.

He said recently: “We beat ourselves for being so stupid, regretting our choices, lamenting the horrible decisions we made.

“Here is the reality: That is what life is.”