Featured Image Credit: NBC / ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Chris Rock, Academy Awards, Oscars, Celebrity
Bec Oakes
Topics: Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Chris Rock, Academy Awards, Oscars, Celebrity
Almost two years on and we're all still talking about Will Smith's infamous 'Oscars slap', but now, Jada Pinkett Smith has reveals her most surprising moment of the shocking moment.
This comes after Jada revealed she and husband Will have been 'secretly separated' for the last seven years, ahead of the release of her new book, Worthy.
But back to the Oscars - viewers of the 2022 Academy Awards were stunned when Best Actor nominee Will slapped Chris Rock across the face during his presentation of the Best Documentary Feature prize.
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Will, 55, then returned to his seat shouting “Keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth" at the comedian after he made a joke about Jada's shaved head, which she has been shaving since 2012 due to alopecia.
Later that evening, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star scooped up the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Richard Williams, father and coach to sporting legends Venus and Serena Williams, in the biographical drama, King Richard.
In his acceptance speech, Will apologized to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and his fellow nominees for his behavior - but not to Chris.
However, for Jada, 'the slap heard across the world' wasn't the most shocking event of the evening for her personally.
Instead, she has revealed that she was most surprised by Will referring to her as 'his wife' — something he hadn't called her in years.
The actress and talk show host recalled the moment in an interview with NBC as she promoted her upcoming memoir.
“First of all, I’m really shocked, because mind you, I’m not there. We haven’t called each other husband and wife in a long time,” Jada told Hoda Kotb.
“I’m like, ‘What is going on right now? Keep my wife’s name out of your mouth?’ I’m really worried for Will because I don’t know what’s going on.”
She also spoke about her thoughts on the joke in which Chris flippantly referred to her as G.I. Jane.
“I did that eye roll not so much for me — and I think this is really important — but the fact that there could be a jab at alopecia,” she said.
Jada shared that during a commercial break following the incident, Rock came up to her and apologized for his comments, but she was more focused on what had happened with Will.
As previously mentioned, Jada recently revealed that her and Will have been separated since 2016 but kept up the appearance of a happily married couple in the years that followed.
Speaking about their relationship now, she said: “We’re still figuring it out. 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.”