The scene shocked the whole world. During the 94th Academy Awards on March 27, 2022, Will Smith took the stage and brutally slapped Chris Rock – the host of the evening – who had joked about the alopecia of Jada Pinkett Smith, the actor’s wife . As a result of this excess of anger, Will Smith was banned from the Oscars for the next ten years. He also resigned from the academy.
Having remained very discreet until then, the actress Jada Pinkett Smith confided her feelings about this incident in the columns of People magazine on October 11, on the occasion of the release of her autobiography Worthy. “I thought it was a sketch. I immediately thought there was no way Will had actually hit him. And it was only when I saw him return to his chair next to me that I understood that it was not a prank,” she said. During the interview, the actress also made a surprising revelation. At the time of the slap, the couple had already been separated for six years.
Also read: Sean Penn furious after Will Smith’s slap: “I was in jail for what he did”
Jada Pinkett Smith recalled that after the ceremony, the words “are you okay?” were the first words she spoke to Will Smith. She also clarified that she supported the actor during this turbulent period, without minimizing the seriousness of his gesture. The actress briefly mentioned this famous slap in 2022 on her show Red Table Talk, three months after the Oscars ceremony. “Will Smith and Chris Rock need to find a way to heal and reconcile, because the world needs them both,” she explained at the time.
In her autobiography Worthy, which will be published on October 17, Jada Pinkett Smith looks back on her childhood spent in the working-class neighborhoods of Baltimore, her fight against suicidal thoughts and depression, motherhood and alopecia. She also talks about her meeting with Will Smith and their three decades of relationship.
