Jada Pinkett Smith is telling it all in her new memoir, “Worthy,” and she is giving some long-awaited context surrounding details behind the infamous Oscars slap.
The “Girls Trip” actress is on a press run for her new book, and she already dropped the bombshell that she and her husband, Will Smith, have been secretly “separated” for seven years. Pinkett Smith said that the relationship has suffered due to “a lot of things,” and in 2016, the couple was “exhausted with trying” to make it work.
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Even though they were through with each other, Jada and Will kept up the façade in front of the public eye. When asked why they did so, the 52-year-old said, “I think just not being ready yet, still trying to figure out between the two of us how to be in partnership, right, and in regards to how do we present that to people. And we hadn’t figured that out.”
Even though they tried to keep their separation quiet, every once in a while, news would come out about the couple heading toward a divorce. Pinkett Smith said this led to an awkward situation with her “Madagascar” costar Chris Rock.
Pinkett Smith said that during one summer, when reports about her and Smith possibly divorcing were swirling, Rock decided to shoot his shot. The “Red Table Talk” host told People magazine that the comedian called her and said, “I’d love to take you out.”
Pinkett Smith said she was confused by Rock’s proposal and asked him what he meant. She says Rock then asked her, “Well, aren’t you and Will getting a divorce?”
The actress denied the divorce and told Rock the reports were just rumors. She said that Rock was “appalled” and that he “apologized profusely.”
Fans believe this situation may have led to Rock’s jokes and his subsequent slapping by Smith.
“Oh now it makes sense…unless he wanted to embarrass Will smith”
“weak men get rejected once and start publicly humiliating women to millions of people.”
“Spent years wondering what actually caused that slap Cos it couldn’t have been just a joke Now I know, damn.”
“So he got curved repeatedly, never got over it, tried going the bully route by embarrassing her with “jokes” and got smacked. That’s why he never said anything about that. He knew that smack should have landed a long time ago.”
So he got curved repeatedly, never got over it, tried going the bully route by embarrassing her with "jokes" and got smacked. That's why he never said anything about that. He knew that smack should have landed a long time ago.
— Jennifer Grady (@jenngradybklyn) October 11, 2023
Pinkett Smith also gave People some more background information about her, Rock, and Smith and what all led to the infamous Oscars confrontation. She didn’t say when Rock tried to take her out, but she did say that the entire situation may have started back in 2016 during #oscarssowhite.
Pinkett Smith confirmed that she did tell Rock to quit hosting the Oscars that year in protest of the situation. Instead of boycotting, Rock made a joke about the actress during his opening monologue, saying, “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.”
Pinkett Smith said Rock apologized, but the pair didn’t talk for six years until the most recent Oscars incident. She said that after her husband slapped the “Head of State” actor, Rock immediately came down to apologize to her.
Rock told her he didn’t mean any harm, but Pinkett Smith said she believed he was still coming after her because of the 2016 Oscars. Pinkett said that she couldn’t get offended or judge Rock for the joke because “that’s what comedians do.”
However, the actress did say, “I’ve had my feelings hurt, for sure. I’ve had my feelings hurt a lot by Chris.” Pinkett Smith says she doesn’t take it to heart because it comes with the territory of being in the spotlight.
