Jada Pinkett Smith has opened up about the one unlikely positive outcome of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
The King Richard actor infamously struck the comedian, who was hosting last year’s Academy Awards, after making a joke about Jada’s shaved head, a hairstyle she adopted due to her alopecia.
At the time, Jada expressed her hopes that “that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out, and reconcile”.
Last month, Jada then dropped the shocking revelation that she and Will had been living “completely separate lives” since 2016, but were not divorced.
In fact, the Matrix Reloaded actor suggested that the high-profile incident actually brought them closer.
“I might not have walked in there as his wife,” she told CBS Mornings in a new interview, “but I left that night as his wife. And as I sit here today, I am going to be by his side always.”
Her words echoed comments she made to Stephen Colbert last month, when she said: “ I knew in that moment that I wasn’t going to leave his side.” She added: “And that’s when I knew, I was like, ‘I love this man.’”
Shortly after the incident aired to millions of viewers around the world, the Red Table Talk host opened her show by saying the Smith family had “been focusing on deep healing”. Will also expressed that he was “deeply remorseful” for his actions.
The Girls Trip actor felt she took a great amount of blame after the incident.
“I think that when we just look at human nature... when you look at the breadcrumbs, people need something to blame,” she told People magazine. She even believed the incident might have been a skit at first.
The news of their separation became public knowledge last month while Jada was promoting her new memoir Worthy.
“It was not a divorce on paper, but it was a divorce,” The Today Show Hoda Kotb said, to which Jada responded: “Right. Divorce.” She said the pair were “working very hard” to mend their relationship.
This summer, meanwhile, Jada offered an update about her alopecia journey, sharing photos of new hair growth on her head again.