The slap given by Will Smith host Chris Rock on March 27 during the Oscars has unleashed different versions of the relationship between the prince of rap and Jada Pinkett, his wife. There is even talk of a possible risk of divorce.
Following last week’s media earthquake and during her Red Table Talks program, Jada posted a message saying they will talk about their relationship when the time comes.
“In light of what has happened over the past few weeks, the Smith family has focused on deep healing. Some of the discoveries we’ve made around our healing will be shared around the table in due course,” he said in the first official position of the marriage.
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But while the Smiths are reluctant to comment, the entertainment press has been ramping up speculation about what the couple is going through. For example, on April 4, US Weekly quoted a friend of the couple as claiming that Jada was upset not only because of his violent reaction to her husband, but because she never asked him to defend her.
“It was the heat of the moment and he was the one who overreacted. He knows, she knows,” the close source would have said.
In a video circulating hours after the Oscars, captured behind the wedding table, the actress is seen laughing after a shocked Chris Rock said he’d just been hit.
As Will, already seated, yells at Rock to stop putting his wife’s name in his mouth, Jada stands erect and motionless.
For its part, The Sun newspaper assured in the first week of this month that Smith had made the decision to go to a rehabilitation clinic to overcome the stress he was facing. The outlet quoted a Hollywood source as saying the clinic is a retreat for the rich and famous.
“This is without a doubt the fight of his career. Will hopes things move forward so he can come back and salvage his reputation and career,” the insider said.
Subsequently, Heat magazine contacted an anonymous source who assured that Will and Jada hardly speak to each other, so the person in question says Will has a net worth of $350 million, half of which belongs to Jada under California law would be entitled to.
“It could be one of the ugliest divorces in show business history,” the source noted, according to Heat.