People have successfully blocked this out of their memory banks, but for months in the fall of 2021, Will Smith was promoting his memoir and it felt like every single day for two solid months, there was some crazy headline about Will – like, having sex was triggering his gag reflex, or ridiculously personal stuff about his marriage. People forgot all about that when he slapped Chris Rock. Now, two years later, Jada has written her own memoir and we’re going through the same thing – every day is a new headline about Will, Chris Rock or Tupac. Well, we heard previously that Jada and Will had been separated for six years before the 2022 Oscars, and now Jada is saying that she was shocked that Will referred to Jada as “my wife” when he screamed at Rock on stage:
Will Smith shocked America when he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars and uttered a now infamous sentence in defense of Jada Pinkett Smith: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f–king mouth.”
But Jada was surprised for a different reason, as Will had not called her his “wife” for a while before that.
“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 in an NBC News primetime special while promoting her upcoming memoir, “Worthy,” out Oct. 17. “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.”
At the 2022 Oscars, Will stormed the stage and struck Rock after the comedian made a joke about Jada’s bald head. Jada, who has alopecia, rolled her eyes after Rock jokingly 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,” Jada told Kotb in a new clip.
I’m not with Jada on this one – even though they were separated, they were still “together” at public events and Will had literally been referring to Jada as his wife for months as he promoted his memoir and King Richard. Why would Jada suddenly be shocked by that? Besides, it’s also clear that Chris, Jada and Will have some incredibly complicated history, history which included Will and Chris having words years prior to that night, all about Will’s “wife.”
Meanwhile, Jada also shared her feelings on Rock’s Netflix special, which aired earlier this year. That was where Rock called Jada a “bitch” a dozen times and blamed the slap on her, and claimed that Jada “started it.” This was Jada’s reaction:
“I remember my heart piercing, my heart cracking, and I remember my feelings being so hurt,” Jada told the outlet.
“And then I remember being able to smile and wish him well at the same time,” she continued.
For someone who talks the language of healing, therapy, ownership and mindfulness, it’s surprising to hear Jada soften her language around Rock consistently. I get it, the last thing she wants to do is come across like “an Angry Black Woman,” but meeting each one of Rock’s escalating humiliations with forced grace is just a strange way to exist. Like, this is the moment (when she’s truly telling her side of things) to actually say “that was really awful, he hurt me and it’s not okay and I don’t have any interest in dealing with his sh-t anymore.” She’s overemphasizing that his humiliations are like water off a duck’s back.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- CENTURY CITY, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – MARCH 13: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith arrive at the 27th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards held at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel on March 13, 2022 in Century City, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 669532679, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- Jada Pinkett Smith during the live ABC telecast of the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022.,Image: 673515385, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Avalon Licensing Ltd. do not claim any Copyright of the attached image WORLD RIGHTS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- WESTWOOD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – NOVEMBER 30: American actress Jada Pinkett Smith arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Apple Original Films’ ‘Emancipation’ held at Regency Village Theatre on November 30, 2022 in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 741563199, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Jada Pinkett Smith, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Pinkett Smith at the 94th Annual Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, USA on March 27, 2022. Copyright: xZoonar.com/Lumeimages.comx 18474330,Image: 800181024, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Zoonar.com/Lumeimages.com / Avalon
I have two friends with alopecia and both had large spots where hair does not grow and both are now become completely bald. Her hair grows evenly and her entire head is covered. Is there an alopecia where hair grows evenly but not long? I’ve always been confused by people referencing her as someone with alopecia.
As to Jada and Will, it seems from an outside perspective that the refusal to divorce doesn’t seem to be doing either of them any good. They have such a bizarre mix of oversharing way too much and hiding the basics.
Right?? .. I don’t believe she has alopecia. And now she said that Tupac had alopecia .. please.
If you look at the first picture you can see her hair looks patchy in places which is typical of alopecia. I have it and if I shaved my head you would see the same thing, places with hair and then bald patches. Some are small and some are bigger. And the thing about Tupac and alopecia was already out there. Without reading the whole book its hard to know the context of things. Its like Harry’s book Spare where the media pulled out passages to sensationalized everything.
I’ve never believed she had alopecia. I always thought it was another excuse to get attention. Now that I’ve read Tupac had it, it all makes sense.
She is an attention seeker, she knows she has limited talent. She was lucky to get Will Smith. He offered a world she would otherwise never have known. And to keep shitting on him is sickening.
Either get a divorce or stfu!
There is a common type of this problem called tension alopecia that occurs frequently in the black community due to tension heavy hair styles. That may be what she’s referencing.
Alopecia doesn’t always have to mean losing hair over the entire body.
I believe that alopecia can vary in strength (?) with things like stress etc making the condition more pronounced. I believe Jada said shaving all her hair off helped as she wasn’t stressing about her hair all the time, can’t remember where I read or heard it though so don’t quote me.
I can’t help but wonder if Jada has the means to get the best treatment and that’s why her alopecia doesn’t appear typically.
My daughter has alopecia. When she was little, we had to shave her head. She did have her hair grow back but has spots throughout that the hair she has covers. I say she has her “shedding” season in the spring where it’s more pronounced. People could look at her and not believe she has, she was one of the lucky ones where her hair did grow back, not the case for all. She lost her eyebrows & eyelashes in middle school. She will always have alopecia, whether she has hair or not. Jada could be same…there are different extremes.
That is how my alopecia areata works as well—after periods of stress, seasonal changes, or big hormone changes—I lose hair in patches and it grows back. I speed it up with injections in my scalp.
If you look at her hair as a young woman it was pretty thick and lush. Her use of the word alopecia could be what happens to most women during/after menopause – severe hair thinning. I am going through it now. The women in my family have male pattern balding aka alopecia. I camouflage to the best of my ability but at some point I will have to either be graceful and cut it all off or do wigs. It’s in my future.
I don’t know about all the levels/categories of alopecia but I’ve seen hair specialists do wonders with hair pieces, wigs, extensions, etc. There are also hair growth supplements that some swear do great work.
In any event, I’m so tired of Will and Jada spilling EVERY detail about their marriage.
Probably an unpopular opinion but these two need to divorce – or at the very least, stop inflicting the details of their messed-up relationship on the rest of us. I’ve lost count of the number of lies and mistruths these two have told over the years. And no-one asked for this information in the first place!
I remember Will and Jada used to go on the Oprah show 20+ years ago and go into excruciating detail on the most intimate parts of their marriage.
I detest Chris Rock and his misogynoir (ditto the media), but – quite aside from “the slap” and all that drama – I’m sick of the Smith family.
I also don’t understand why Jada would be attending the Oscars as Will’s “wife” if she stopped considering herself as such SEVEN YEARS AGO.
I second your sentiment because I’m tired of it too. That night at the Academies was supposed to be a celebration of significant wins for Troy Kotsur, Ariana DeBose, Williams family, Youn Yuh-jung, and Will Smith. Trailblazing recognition for the deaf community, LatinX, LGBTQIA, and Korean communities in movies, but this milestone was hijacked by the slap heard around the world. But the legit media as well as the tabloids only ever cover the Smiths and Rock’s interaction with each other. Equally wrong is for Smith to be banned from the Oscars when you have the likes of Woody Allen still being allowed to attend. So, yeah, enough already, and get divorced.
This. Everything I know about this marriage I’ve learned against my will.
Yes! I distinctly remember seeing them on Oprah in the 90s, and Jada joking that their relationship better be forever or else she’s “calling Ellen.” It was right when Ellen DeGeneres had come out.
I’m with you! Just divorce because at this point, the marriage is embarrassing to them both at this point tbh.
I don’t really understand it either. We’ve heard WAY too much about their marriage during the whole length of it, but then they kept the separate quiet, made a big stink about her having an affair (while separated, though I know the power dynamics there were bad) and continued publicly acting as husband and wife, and now she’s dropping all this info to sell a book. As he did too.
They both seem unhappy in this situation. I don’t know why they don’t just a divorce and remain friends/co-parents.
Perhaps the Scientology powers-that-be have refused to allow them a divorce?
I wish these two would go away already. I’m sick and tired of them.
There seems to be some serious revisionist history going on in this book. Sounds more like PR sound bites than autobiography excerpts. I agree that they were very much still referring to each other as husband and wife during the film promo and Oscar campaign and even after during red table talk and the families responses. When I first heard she was releasing a book I was interested. Now I find myself cringing at every excerpt and wondering how the person who did red table talk can sound so insincere and why she felt the need to put out this book and sell this weird take
Seek help Jada. Like asap. Not from Scientology. Not at a red goddamn table. She’ll still make bank on her fictions ffs. Nice job btw modeling healthy relationships for her children, and living authentic lives. It’s gotten to the point where the sight of her nauseates me.
I think she’s trying not to be perceived as a victim of Rock. She can’t control what he says or does so she has to find a way to let him be/do him and not be reactive to it.
She is full of it. She was ‘shocked’ he called her his wife in Public WHILE still legally Married and they hadnt disclosed to anyone they were separated!!?? She is still his wife,what was he suppose to say?
EXACTLY!!! I don’t understand the thinking here. How can it be jarring when you go out to these events appearing at his side as his wife and btw YOU ARE STILL HIS WIFE. If it’s that jarring to hear him call you “wife”, divorce him and stop going to events with him.
Agreed. They’re exhausting.
If this were any other couple, I would say they don’t owe the world an explanation or definition of their relationship. They have been separated for years, but no one knew that. The whole “entanglement” situation happened during the separation, which seems strange, because Will sure seemed displeased during the Red Table Talk. Clearly he did not think it was ok for her to have “entanglements”. That looked like a couple discussing an affair.
Then years go by and they are still being interviewed with NO mention of the separation. And they continue go to events together.
But she was SHOCKED that he called her his wife? Legally she IS his wife. And they sure were doing a great job of acting married when they showed up at all those events together.
I don’t know what the actual story is, and I don’t really care. But it’s so obnoxious to see that she is acting like it’s WEIRD that he called her his wife. The whole world thought she was his wife, because she was married to him and it sure looked like they were still fully together.
The scientology explanation makes some sense, in that Scientology is nutty and so is this situation. BUT, I would think if the Church didn’t want them to divorce and were actively convincing them not to, it would be for the optics, wanting to show this Hollywood Super Couple that are also Scientologists. And if that were the case, the current optics are NOT good. A divorce would look better for the church (CULT) than all this messiness.
Jada saying that she was surprised Will referred to her as “my wife” is some bull. Lest she forget that she has his last name. Jada Pinkett-SMITH. I think it’s important to tell your story, even Will had his opportunity with his book, I just think she’s doing a lot.
For the love of God, Will and Jada, DIVORCE!! You are toxic for each other. Always have been, always will be.
Then just shut up about your private life. You’re both still talented enough to continue your acting careers. Just SHUT UP!!!!!
Not only toxic for each other, but for their children as well.
Yeah I feel for the kids. This must suck so much for them. Even when adult your parents relationship MATTERS.
I…guess I’m not as annoyed by this as other people? I get what people are saying, that they were pretending to be married publicly. But there is a difference between someone saying something when they’re…well, acting…and what they’re saying when they’ve lost their tempers and are presumably speaking authentically.
I also don’t care whether or not they divorce. They’re both adults. Their children are adults. It doesn’t seem like anyone’s getting hurt by their drama (well, Chris Rock did, I guess, but I don’t feel very sorry for him). And it’s least it’s something to talk about that’s actually new information.
at this point they both disgust me.
Let’s get this out of the way: Chris Rock is a misogynistic pr*ck and deserves every burn he’s gotten. He’s sick of her talking about HIM?!? That’s rich.
That said, it feels like there is something deeply unsettling and dark about the relationship between Will and Jada. Like he’s a hair’s breadth away from…something…and she keeps him there. He’s no victim and makes his own choices, so don’t get me wrong. He is not the person he’s projected all these years, and any vestiges of that perception left after the slap are really gone now. I mean, she was quoted as saying she would probably move back in with him because he will need someone to take care of him as he ages. WTF? He’s only a few years older than her. His actions just seem to scream emotional abuse and manipulation. It’s a two way street, too. He can’t see his way out of it because he doesn’t want to.
LSS, their relationship has a very toxic and sick dynamic. They both need OUT of it.
QUALIFIER: This is just my opinion having gone through it myself. I’m not an expert and could be totally off base. I hope I am, in fact.
I’m with you. And I’m not so sure he’s “not a victim.” He may well be. This all seems like emotional abuse and public humiliation
“They go low, we go high” has been completely misconstrued & therefore has done incalculable damage to those who actually do need to stand, set & maintain boundaries, & defend others.
Whatever Michelle’s intent with saying it, once again the road to hell’s been paved.
I feel for Jada here, though I also simultaneously wish their whole family would go away for good.
Her not wanting to talk about being hurt by Chris is her right. She doesn’t have to perform her pain for anyone. Black women deal with enough. Because we all know that if she did she would get dragged for it. And she most certainly knows it.
This may be controversial but I’m kind of getting tired of Jada. I think the argument that she’s only just now getting to give her side of the story is disingenuous when she was THE LITERAL HOST of her own TALK SHOW on YouTube (or wherever it was) for years. I also feel like she’s trying to throw Will under the bus with all this — I haven’t been one of the Will Smith apologists, but it seems like she’s kicking him while he’s down.
If the two of them were not ready to announce their separation, why is Jade surprised Will called her his wife? If he didn’t, it would have drawn media attention to the status of their relationship.
Not to mention, she said just said that they still love each other and are still trying to make the marriage work, so again, why is she supried he called her his wife.
They have been in over-sharing mode since the early 2000’s when they went on every talk show to tell us how great their sex life was and wrote a book about it because it was so grate and everyone need to know.
I’m starting to think Jada wants a divorce but Will doesn’t. He said publicly that he will never get divorced again, she said on Red Table, she never wanted to get married (it was her mom and Will that pushed her into it), and she is saying a lot and doing a lot I think to finally let push him to let her go. She seems like she just wants to be free. First thing she should do is drop the Smith from her name.
A few years before the Oscar Slap, Will went on a podcast and made weird comments about how he and Jada don’t refer to themselves as “husband and wife” but as “life partners” and didn’t they say they were “married” anymore. I thought the comments were weird at the time and more of the usual Smith BS. So we did get some hints about their separation and it’s probably true they didn’t use husband and wife behind closed doors. I have to imagine close friends and family knew they weren’t together anymore, maybe just a select group but hard to hide you aren’t even living with your spouse anymore if you have separate living arrangements.
oh my god, yes, i too had totally forgotten about will’s memoir from a couple years back, when he was on his ridiculously TMI promotional tour for what felt like an eternity. it was A LOT.
about jada, it’s quite ironic (and a fail for her, i think), that she’s out there promoting her memoir, and yet just about every headline lately is about somebody else, not *her*, rather some man or another (one is her maybe husband/ex/codependent, one who’s been on her case and harassed her for years but who she’s tip-toeing around for some reason, and the other who’s dead).
last thing, i’ve been feeling like revisiting the slap stuff now is weird, plus her anecdotes so far have some glaring inconsistencies, as others have pointed out (like, were you and will ever in an open relationship or not? if you are still legally married, why are you surprised when he calls you his wife? huh?)
idk, but this whole thing so far also seems a bit self-defeating, ’cause now it’s revived the hate she’s always gotten from her critics, esp about the slap.
i feel like a memoir should induce sympathy for its subject, and also shed light on aspects of their personality and life.
and, i mean, other than the big reveal about her separation from will, she’s not really been saying anything particularly interesting, or that we don’t already know.
I don’t know, I just can’t seem to connect with or sympathise strongly with Jada. Her and Will’s marriage seems so bizarre too. I also don’t find her ‘who me?’ thing convincing in relation to Will calling her his wife. They are clearly still very much entangled.
Everything I have learned about the Smith family, I’ve learned against my will.
I used to think Will Smith was one of the most chill, laid back and positive dudes in Hollywood. Now, I just wish he’d get therapy (hopefully he’s already seeking it).
With everything I’ve seen of the Smith family from what their kids are like to Jada’s oversharing, I just wish all of them would leave the public eye for a few years.
I intend to red this book with an open mind. I come from a culture where men protect their women family members be they the sisters, daughters, wives or cousins…
So this whole ? does not surprise me, the response is another thing altogether..
Why the response(s)??
Edit: I intend to read this book with an open mind.
Note to self: One does not live a full life by following a social template…..
That concept so common in literature will be a blast in “Worthy”……
I’m not a fan of Will or Jada, and I find their alternating exhibitionism/demands for privacy exhausting . . . but much to my surprise I have newfound empathy for her.
I too, have had a complicated separation from my husband since 2016. The answer to “why don’t you just get divorced?” isn’t always cut-and-dried, even for civilians who don’t have a public image to maintain. I will eye-roll them for other things, but not this. If you haven’t been in the middle of it yourself it can be hard to understand.
She’s a narcissist, and Will is her victim, and she keeps humiliating him over and over again, and that’s their dynamic. Now I saw she was crying on some talk show about how Pac was her soul mate (again), and he was literally engaged to another woman when he passed away Jada!
Narcissism: Revision of history. Attention seeking. Humiliating others. Lying. Cheating on a partner. Seducing a much younger very vulnerable man who’s a friend of her son. Playing the victim. Crying for herself. Trying to paint herself as a forgiving saint. Sharing TMI about embarrasing details about her marriage and her kids. The list goes on and on….
I think this unfortunately May be the case. On some level at least.
Interesting fact: Jada and Lance Armstrong were born on the same day.
Never been a fan of hers – the smug has always been very strong but the way she got dragged about the slap was so wrong. It was on Will and Rock and only them.
There is a weird fkd up dynamic with the 3 of them – Chris Rock clearly has been obsessed with getting with her for years, Will clearly loves her (I think he still does even after everything) and she’s always been obsessed with TuPac (I will always believe she wanted more out of their friendship – its obvs with the way she constantly calls him her soul mate).
The kids are all grown up now so other than their joint businesses there is nothing really keeping them married – financially she stands to get a lot out of a split which is maybe why he won’t divorce. As others have said it seems that their relationship is very toxic which has had a negative affect on both their mental health.
I really don’t get it. Will has ALWAYS been cringe. Always. Like starting with Fresh Prince days. And the slap was like some Greek tragedy ish—except for no one dying—it derailed *him* just when folks were starting to look at him more seriously. In effect he destroyed his own comeback. What i don’t get though is that, from the comments, it sounds like Jada is being blamed. Still. She tries to be generous to an enemy— it’s bad. She was actually separated from Will— folks howl with betrayal like they actually give a shit. (Were marriages staying together because the Will-Jada bond was so inspiring? Really?) Anyway, I say why not blame Scientology? Because it seems like almost anything you hear about their lives is coming through a filter that involves keeping Scientology safe. And the media is in full “playing along” mode despite the harm that cult has done. Which is far more annoying to me than anything Jada has said or done. I don’t find it difficult at all to ignore those two. They’re good looking, talented, weirdos like most of the folks who wind up being stars. And let’s put the emphasis on the WEIRDO part. Stars aren’t like you and me—there’s something about them that’s extreme, strange. Once on top they’re hugely privileged and also in a bizarre way victims of the fame machine. Which makes for all kinds of weird out-there behavior as they try to navigate the need to be seen with the need to protect their private lives. Anyway, if the Pinkerton-Smiths are that annoying, why not just … not click the button…?
I have a policy of not caring about Slapgate beyond remembering how beautiful Jada looked in that emerald dress. She was being brave about her alopecia, and she looked so gorgeous that night.
And then none of us got to talk about it because of Slapgate. Harumph, stupid boys.