Jada Pinkett has admitted she was shocked Will Smith called her his ‘wife’ during his explosive outburst at the 2022 Oscars – which led to 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 at the time of the 94th Academy Awards, when he infamously jumped the stage and attacked Chris over a joke about Jada’s hair.
Unraveling the infamous moment in an interview with Hoda Kotb on the Today show, Jada admitted: “First of all, I’m really shocked because, mind you, I’m not there.
“We haven’t called ourselves husband and wife for a long time. I wonder, what’s going on right now?’
Jada Pinkett has admitted she was shocked Will Smith called her his ‘wife’ during his explosive outburst at the 2022 Oscars – which led to him slapping Chris Rock.
Will slapped comedian Chris at the 2022 Oscars after he joked about his wife Jade’s bald head
Jada admitted she was shocked by the events that unfolded – especially since she and Will haven’t talked about each other as spouses for a long time
Jada (seen with Will in 2022 – six years after they split) said she considered getting a legal divorce but could never go through with it
Jada recently revealed that she suffers from alopecia at the time of the spectacle, and a bitter Will didn’t take well to Chris’ gag.
He stormed the stage and slapped the comedian after he ranted “keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth” – before winning best actor that night for his role in King Richard.
Jada claimed that after Chris called her ‘GI Jane’ he leaned towards her to apologize – further infuriating Will.
She continued: “Will is still talking because now he’s mad because Chris is talking to me and I’m like, ‘Chris, this is about some old s*ck.’ That’s all I could say. It’s not him at all.’
Jada made the admission after revealing that stand-up comic Chris once asked her out on a date when divorce rumors were swirling about her and Will.
“I think every summer all the reports would come out that me and Will were getting divorced,” she said. “And this summer, Chris, he thought we were going to get divorced.”
“So he called me and basically said, ‘I’d like to take you out,'” she recalled. ‘And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Well, aren’t you and Will getting a divorce?’ I was like, ‘No, Chris, it’s just a rumor.’
‘He was disgusted. And he apologized profusely and that was that.’
Jada revealed that she and husband Will had been separated for the past seven years
Jada and Will pictured at the 2022 Oscars with children Jaden and Willow, as well as Will’s son Trey, 30, from his first wife Sherry Zampino
Earlier this week, Jada revealed that she and Will decided to live “completely 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,” Hoddy said.
Explaining why they didn’t get a legal divorce, she added: “I promised there would never be a reason for us to divorce. We’ll work through… whatever. I just couldn’t break that promise.’
Speaking to People, Jada noted that no permanent decisions have been made about the future of her marriage, explaining that she and Will are “still figuring it out.”
“We did really hard work together,” she said. ‘We just have a deep love for each other and we’re going to figure out what that looks like.’
She went on to praise her children – Jaden, 25, Willow, 22, and Trey, 30, who is Will’s son from a previous relationship – for being there for her during this difficult time in her relationship.
“My children, they are little gurus. They taught me a deep sense of self-acceptance,” she said. “They love every part of me. The level of love, the unconditional love they have for me and their dad.
“And it’s one thing to want to be the person who gives that unconditional love.” And there is to be the recipient of it.’