Coming out of the 2022 Academy Awards, the most talked-about moment wasn’t one of the ceremony’s actual winners, but about an altercation that happened onstage. Following Chris Rock making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald appearance, a result of her alopecia, her husband, Will Smith, slapped the comedian. A little over two months later, Jada Pinkett Smith has finally spoken out about what happened between the two men.
The latest episode of Jada Pinkett Smith’s Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk is focused on people who deal with alopecia, and the actress opened “Alopecia: The Devastating Impact” with the below words that also addressed the Will Smith and Chris Rock encounter at the Oscars:
This is a really important Red Table Talk on alopecia. Considering what I’ve been through with my own health and what happened at the Oscars, thousands have reached out to me with their stories. I’m using this moment to give our alopecia family an opportunity to talk about what it’s like to have this condition and to inform people about what alopecia actually is. Now about Oscar night, my deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile. The state of the world today, we need them both. And we all actually need one another more than ever. Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years, and that’s keep figuring out this thing called life together. Thank you for listening.
This particular bit of Oscars drama unfolded when Chris Rock came out to present the Best Documentary Feature category, and among the jokes he told was telling Jada Pinkett Smith that he can’t wait to see her in G.I. Jane 2, i.e. comparing her bald look to how Demi Moore appeared in 1997’s G.I. Jane. Will Smith was seen on camera laughing while Jada Pinkett Smith just rolled her eyes, but just seconds later, Will walked onstage, slapped Rock, returned to his seat and told the SNL alum to keep his wife’s name out of his “fucking mouth.” Months later, Jada Pinkett Smith only wants her husband and Rock to patch things up rather than remain divided. She also indicated that as far as she and Will Smith are concerned, this incident hasn’t derailed them from dealing with life’s challenges together.
Although Jada Pinkett Smith’s statement comes months after the slap happened, the incident certainly didn’t leave the public conversation quickly. The day afterwards, Will Smith issued a formal apology to Chris Rock, but it’s since been reported that the former hasn’t personally reached out to the latter. Will Smith then resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on April 1, and a week later, the organization banned the Men in Black actor from attending the Oscars and any other Academy-related event for the next 10 years. Plenty of celebrities have also given their take on Will Smith slapping Chris Rock, including Seth Meyers bringing it up at NBCUniversal’s Upfront presentation and Steve Harvey discussing the incident while speaking at an Atlanta law school.
Now that Jada Pinkett Smith has responded to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock, we’ll have to wait and see if her wish for them to reconcile comes true. Should that happen and it’s made public, CinemaBlend will pass that news along. Until then, you can look through our 2022 release schedule to figure out what movies to watch later this year.