Jada Pinkett has admitted she was shocked Will Smith referred to her as his “wife” during his explosive outburst at the 2022 Oscars – which resulted in him slapping Chris Rock.
The 52-year-old Girls Trip actress revealed earlier this week that she and her husband had been separated for six years by the time of the 94th Academy Awards, when he jumped on stage and confronted Chris about a joke he made about Jada had made, attacked Haar.
When Jada unpacked the infamous moment in an interview with Hoda Kotb on the Today show, she confessed, “First of all, I’m really shocked because mind you, I’m not there.”
“We haven’t called each other husband and wife for a long time. I’m wondering: what’s going on right now?
Jada Pinkett has admitted she was shocked Will Smith referred to her as his “wife” during his explosive outburst at the 2022 Oscars – which resulted in him slapping Chris Rock
Will slapped comedian Chris at the 2022 Oscars after he made a joke about his wife Jada’s baldness
Jada admitted that she was shocked by the events that unfolded – especially since she and Will hadn’t referred to each other as spouses in a long time
Jada (seen with Will in 2022 – six years after their split) said she thought about a legal divorce but was never able to go through with it
Jada had recently revealed that she was suffering from alopecia at the time of the spectacle, and an outraged Will didn’t react well to Chris’ joke.
He stormed the stage and slapped the comedian after shouting in anger: “Keep my wife’s name out of your damn mouth!” – before winning Best Actor that night for his role in King Richard won.
Jada claimed that after Chris referred to her as “GI Jane,” he leaned in to apologize to her – which made Will even angrier.
She continued, “Will’s still talking because he’s mad now that Chris is talking to me, and I’m like, ‘Chris, this is about some old shit.’ That’s all I can think of. It’s not him at all.’
Jada’s confession comes after she claimed stand-up comedian Chris once asked her out when divorce rumors about her and Will were circulating.
“I think every summer all the reports came out that Will and I were getting a divorce,” she said. “And that summer, Chris thought we were getting a divorce.
“So he called me and basically said, ‘I’d like to take you out,'” she recalls. “And I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, “Well, aren’t you and Will getting divorced?” I thought, “No, Chris, they’re just rumors.”
“He was horrified. And he apologized profusely and that was that.’
Jada revealed that she and her husband Will have been separated for seven years
Jada and Will at the 2022 Oscars with their children Jaden and Willow as well as Will’s son Trey, 30, from his first wife Sheree Zampino
Earlier this week, Jada revealed that she and Will decided to live “totally separate lives” seven years ago because they were “exhausted from trying” to make their marriage work.
“I think we were both still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be,” she told Hoda.
Explaining why they didn’t get a legal divorce, she added: “I promised there would never be a reason for us to get a divorce. “We’ll work through… whatever. I just haven’t been able to break that promise.’
Speaking to People, Jada noted that no permanent decisions have been made about the future of their marriage, explaining that she and Will are “still thinking about it.”
“We did really hard work together,” she said. “We just felt deep love for each other and we’re going to find out what that looks like.”
She then praised her children – Jaden, 25, Willow, 22, and Trey, 30, Will’s son from a previous relationship – for standing by her during this difficult time in their relationship.
“My children, they are little gurus.” “They have taught me a deep sense of self-acceptance,” she said. “They love every part of me.” The level of love, unconditional love, that they feel for me and their father.
“And it’s one thing to want to be the person who gives that unconditional love. And then there’s the recipient of it.”