Jada Pinkett Smith Issues Full Statement on Will Smith’s Oscars Slap

Jada Pinkett Smith arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party during the 94th Academy Awards in Beverly Hills, California, on March 27, 2022. Danny Moloshok/Reuters

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith made her first in-depth remarks this week in regards to her husband slapping comedian Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.

“My deepest hope,” Pinkett Smith said on her “Red Table Talk” show Wednesday, “is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile.”

With “the state of our world today, we need them both,” she added Smith and Rock, without elaborating. “And we 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,” Pinkett Smith continued in her remarks on the March 27 incident. She issued a brief public comment on Instagram about the slap, although it was brief and vague.

Will Smith (R) appears to slap Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on March 27, 2022. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Her Instagram post read: “This is a season for healing and I’m here for it.”

During Wednesday’s show, Pinkett Smith also referred to alopecia, a condition that causes premature hair loss. Pinkett Smith has long claimed to have suffered from the autoimmune disorder, prompting her to shave her head.

Rock had made a joke about Pinkett Smith’s shaved head during the Oscars, prompting Will Smith to walk onto the stage before he slapped Rock. Upon returning to his seat, Smith, 53, shouted expletives at Rock, 57.

Later that evening, Smith won the Best Actor award for his performance in “King Richard” as he made a rambling acceptance speech and didn’t mention Rock.

While there was speculation that the slap was staged to generate publicity for the Academy Awards after years of declining ratings, the “Independence Day” actor issued an apology to the Academy and Rock several days later. The Academy also banned Smith from attending any future Oscar events for the next 10 years.

Smith also resigned from the Academy, according to a social media post.

“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,” the “Fresh Prince” actor wrote on Instagram. “I was out of line and I was wrong. ”I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

Rock, meanwhile, has made few public comments on the slapping incident. Last month, Rock made a dismissive remark about Smith during an interview involving fellow comedian Dave Chappelle, saying: “I got smacked by the softest [expletive] that ever rapped.”