For everyone who’s had questions about Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s marriage, she’s been providing a lot of answers during the press tour for her memoir, Worthy. Of course, what we all really want to know about is what went down between the couple after his infamous Oscar-night slap. On Monday, during a conversation at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York City she discussed the aftermath of Will slapping comedian Chris Rock.
“When I was sitting at the Oscars, it clicked in. As soon as I was like, ‘Oh snap, you hit Chris?’” she said. “I was like, I’m riding with you. I didn’t come into this place as your wife, but I’m leaving here as your wife because we got a storm we’re going to have to deal with together. I am not gonna leave your side.”
In case you’ve been under a rock since the 2022 Academy Awards, Rock was on stage presenting the award for Best Documentary Feature when he made several jokes about the star-studded audience. He made a crack about Jada being in G.I. Jane 2, and Will wasn’t having it. He jumped on stage, slapped the hell out of Chris and told him to “keep my wife’s name out your fucking mouth.” A short time later, Will won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in King Richard.
In the days and weeks that followed, endless think pieces debated whether Will’s actions were justified and what the career consequences would be for him. For Will and Jada, who have been separated since 2016, the moment led them to do “some really deep work together.” It seems like that work paid off, as the rapper/actor encouraged the “Set it Off” star to finally write her book. She revealed that Will and their three kids gave her a greenlight to discuss anything she wanted from their lives.
“[Will] was like, ‘You haven’t been able to have your authentic voice through and through,’” she said. “‘I will be comfortable with whatever you want to share, I trust you.’”
She allowed him to read the manuscript before she sent it to her editor, but explained that “He didn’t change a word. He changed nothing.”
Honestly, it’s amazing that at this moment, when the whole world was about to descend on them, the chaos brought them closer together. As we all wonder why they decided to stay married all these years, remember sometimes you find a person who truly sees and loves you no matter what, and that’s something very rare.
In case you want more deep, personal confessions from Jada, during an appearance with TalkShopLive and Good Housekeeping, she revealed that her talk show, Red Table Talk, will return in 2024. The actress, her daughter, Willow Smith, and her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, will all be back.
“We could not do the Red Table while I was writing this book and while Willow was on her music journey,” she said. “So we have decided to come back next year.”
In the meantime, Worthy is available online and in bookstores.