Like many who viewed The Slap in real time back in March 2022, Jada Pinkett Smith initially thought the whole thing was “a skit.”
Though there's absolutely zero chance anyone needs it, here's a quick reminder of what happened: During the 2022 Oscars ceremony, Will Smith—who later went on to win a Best Actor trophy for his acclaimed King Richard performance—slapped Chris Rock after the comedian made a G.I. Jane joke about Jada. In response, the Academy controversially slapped Will with a 10-year ban.
Ahead of the release of her new book, Jada spoke with People's Jason Sheeler, resulting in some fresh insight from the Wicked Wisdom singer and Matrix franchise actor about her husband's 2022 slapping.
"I thought, ‘This is a skit,’” she said of her initial reaction. “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.”
In June of last year, Jada spoke about The Slap on an alopecia-focused episode of Red Table Talk. At the time, she expressed her hope that Rock and her husband could one day "have an opportunity to heal" and "talk this out."
As for whether she herself has spoken with the comedian since the 2022 Oscars, Jada revealed, again per People, that she has not. In her book, Jada also revealed that Rock actually once called her to ask her out on a date in response to a wave of divorce rumors regarding her and Will's relationship.
“I think every summer all the reports would come out that me and Will were getting a divorce," she told People. "And this particular summer, Chris, he thought that we were getting a divorce. So he called me and basically he was like, ‘I'd love to take you out.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ He was like, ‘Well, aren't you and Will getting a divorce?’ I was like, ‘No. Chris, those are just rumors.’ He was appalled. And he profusely apologized and that was that.”
Much of the focus amid this week's Jada interviews has focused on the revelation that she and Will actually made the decision to lead separate lives back in 2016, although they are not divorced (and it doesn't sound like they will be).
“I think by the time we got to 2016 we were just exhausted with trying," she told Hoda Kotb in a preview of an extended interview that's set to debut in full later this week.
Jada's book, titled Worthy, hits shelves on Oct. 17. In the coming days, we can surely expect more headlines of this variety.
