Jada Pinkett Smith is finally speaking in detail about the infamous Oscars incident where her husband, Will Smith, smacked Chris Rock during the live broadcast. In a new interview, Jada Pinkett Smith reveals that she and Will Smith were separated for years and thought the Oscars incident was a skit for the show.
Jada Pinkett Smith, 52, sat down with People for an exclusive interview discussing the aftermath of the Oscars slap, her journey from Baltimore to Hollywood, and details about her marriage to Will Smith, 55, and the trials they’ve faced. It appears that the interview is in connection to Pinkett Smith’s upcoming memoir, Worthy.
In Worthy, Pinkett Smith shares details of her upbringing in Baltimore, Md., being raised by parents who struggled with addiction, and her stint as a drug dealer in the streets of Charm City. But what most want to know is what went on in the Smith’s fairytale marriage and what hurdles they’ve had to overcome.
Regarding the Oscars moment, Pinkett Smith was just as shocked as everyone viewing.
“I thought, ‘This is a skit.,’” Pinkett Smith said of the slap. “I was like, ‘There’s no way that Will hit him.’ It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn’t a skit.”
Regarding their marriage, Pinkett Smith shared that she and her husband are still working on their union but urged that love is at the center of it all.
“We’re still figuring it out,” Pinkett Smith said. “We’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together. We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us.”
Naturally, any mention of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith gets the X timeline going and we’ve got reactions from all sides below.
Worthy will be released on October 17.
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Photo: The Chosunilbo JNS / Getty
1.
In one of the early red table talks, Will & Jada said they'd been separated (but living on the same compound) but then put their marriage back together their way. They said this specifically, and so much of the RTT convos were based on how they got past the problem, but nowwww…
— Naima Cochrane (@naima) October 11, 2023
2.
Will said that they weren’t together out his own mouth and y’all still claim that Jada was cheating. Yall talked about her using language to diminish her behavior but Will has been in on faking a whole marriage for damn near a decade. They are equally matched.
— Eboni (@ebonitpr) October 11, 2023
3.
I honestly dont get what is so upsetting or surprising about this Will and Jada business. They sound like the average Black couple of a certain age that refuses to divorce but keeps getting into it over the years, they just have money and new age words
— Comorienne
(@_ShamGod) October 11, 2023
4.
I would like to know less about Blueface, Chrisean, Will and Jada P Smith.
— The Jobfather
(@TheJobfather__) October 11, 2023
6.
Everyone on Twitter when they saw Jada Pinkett Smith say her and Will Smith have been separated since 2016…
— alex (@AlexUlrichh) October 11, 2023
7.
Why did Jada feel the need to tell us more of her and Will's business??? The Think Pieces are gonna be dumb as hell the rest of this week. Smh. pic.twitter.com/bK9lAaOYL6
— Little Brother(s) (@LBrothersMedia) October 11, 2023
8.
J. Cole dropped “No Role Modelz” and Will and Jada broke up two years later. pic.twitter.com/Hib7iSLApJ
— Kazeem Famuyide
(@Kazeem) October 11, 2023
9.
So Jada Pinkett in her quarterly public humiliation of Will Smith said they’ve been separated since 2016. So you mean to tell me this dummy crashed out his career for a woman he’s not even with? pic.twitter.com/ifBcmhZaEC
— Corey Cross (@cocropoker) October 11, 2023
10.
Jada Pinkett reveals she has actually never met Will Smith pic.twitter.com/nKCz67jzay
— Steven Castillo (@STEEEZUSCHRIST) October 11, 2023
11.
Jada Pinkett finally free to have sex with the ghost of Tupac after seperating from Will Smith pic.twitter.com/MKv4yA1OYG
— Wiresbrg (@Wiresbrg) October 11, 2023
12.
Everyone logging on Twitter Wednesday morning seeing Jada, Will Smith, and Chris Rock trend again pic.twitter.com/iJQoMwV4V6
— MeNameIsWes (@weszmarsh) October 11, 2023
13.
This video perfectly dictates how Jada Pinkett treated Will Smith in their marriage pic.twitter.com/RROUFvV2m5
— Pizza Dad (@Pizza__Dad) October 11, 2023
14.
So Will Smith smacked the shit out of Chris Rock over this joke and is not even together with Jada Pinkett
… this is embarrassing city boys down -1000 pic.twitter.com/l0SPqz4xsz
— Chombe (@Chombe1080) October 11, 2023
15.
Me counting all the times Jada woke up and chose to embarrass will smith pic.twitter.com/99mSXHDhJ8
— Danny (@dannywontmiss) October 11, 2023