Jada Pinkett Smith’s book tour for her new memoir, Worthy, took an unexpected turn on Tuesday. The actress planned to meet up with Stephen Colbert on his late night talk show, but the host’s positive COVID test meant he was overseeing things from home. However, they still managed to have a hilarious and insightful conversation about her family and the infamous Chris Rock Oscars slap.
Stephen wasted no time getting to the heart of the matter, asking Jada if Will was still her husband or if he should call the Oscar winner her “former husband.” She made it clear that they are still connected, even referring to Will as her “life partner.”.
“That’s still my man,” she said. “I came into my marriage with Will so young. All of the idealism I had around husband and marriage, and in my process through therapy and just learning how to break down all of those romanticized fantasies that I came into this marriage with and really learning to have acceptance for the reality of what it is. And just seeing Will in a brand new light. So, just for my own healing, I just call us life partners, but he’s my dude. He’s my right hand.”
Because Will, Jada and their kids have all been so open, maybe too open, with their lives, Colbert wondered why they chose to keep their separation private. The “Set if Off” actress explained that she “wasn’t ready” because “uncoupling consciously is a very difficult thing.”
“I had a lot of things I had to resolve so it wasn’t like a war in public. I didn’t want that for Will and I. I really needed time to get myself together,” the Emmy winner said. “And in that process of my healing, just realized, ‘Do I really want to be divorced? Do I really want to be separated?’ And then the Oscars came.”
Jada reiterated her recent comments about how the Oscars slap brought them closer together. Without mentioning the film by name, she revealed that after making Emancipation, she and Will did some therapeutic work together, which led the King Richard star to invite her to attend the Academy Awards with him.
“I didn’t go to the Oscars necessarily as Will’s wife, but when the event occurred, I knew in that moment, I wasn’t gonna leave his side,” the Red Table Talk host said. “I didn’t go to that theater as his wife, but I was leaving as his wife and I was gonna stand by his side no matter what.”
Much to Stephen’s surprise, but not to any Black people watching, she revealed that Will and Chris had a complicated history. Despite his attempts, she wasn’t about to go down that road, saying, “That’s a story for them, you know what I mean?”
Throughout Jada’s book tour we’ve heard about her love story with Tupac, her complex relationship with Will, her reaction to the slap and her past as a drug dealer. I’m not sure what shocking revelations are left. If you’re curious, Worthy is now available online and in bookstores.