Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith and Chris Rock Shutterstock (3)
Talk about it. Jada Pinkett SmithOfficially addressed Will Smith Chris Rock’s infamous 2022 Oscars scandal, in which the King Richard star slapped the comedian on stage in response to his joke about the Red Table Talk host’s hair loss.
“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 Matrix ReloadedStar, 50, shared the Wednesday, June 1 episode Red Table Talk, adding, “The state of the world today, we need them both. And we all actually need one another more than ever.”
Pinkett Smith, 53, also expressed her support for her husband and their almost 25-year-old marriage. “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,” she added. “Thank you for listening.”
On the night of the 64th annual Academy Awards, Rock, 57, who was presenting an award at the event, made a joke at the Scream 2 star’s expense. “Jada, can’t wait for G.I. Jane 2,” he quipped, referencing her shaved head. Pinkett Smith has been open about her struggle with alopecia, an auto immune condition that causes hair loss.
While Girls Trip’s star blatantly rolled eyes at the comment, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum initially seemed able take the comment in stride and appeared to be laughing at it. He walked onto the stage and slapped Rock across his face moments later.
Chris Rock and Will Smith Chris Pizzello/AP/Shutterstock
“Oh wow. Wow. Will Smith just smacked the s—t outta me,” the stunned Saturday Night Live alum said in response.
The confrontation didn’t end there. After walking back to his seat, Smith — who later won the Academy Award for best actor for his role in 2021’s King Richard — yelled at Rock, twice, to “keep my wife’s name out your f—king mouth.”
The aftermath of the incident saw the Pursuit of HappinessRock publicly apologised to actor and resigned from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Rock was also banned from attending Academy-related events in the next 10 years.
For her part, Pinkett Smith began Wednesday’s episode of the Facebook Watch series with a “really important” discussion on alopecia.
Jada Pinkett Smith Red Table Talk/Facebook
“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,” Pinkett Smith noted. “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.”
The Gotham alum, along her cohosts, mother Adrienne Bang-Norris, and Willow Smith, hosted Niki ball, whose daughter Rio committed suicide at the age of 12 after being bullied for having alopecia.
“With school coming up, we got her that super cute wig, she loved it, and she glowed then. But at school, within a couple of weeks, she was like, ‘I don’t want to wear it anymore, there’s no point.’ She had it ripped off her head,” Ball said, detailing the harassment her daughter endured at the hands of her fellow classmates. “She’d get smacked upside on the head walking down the hallway. This happened within the first two, three weeks. It got really bad for her.”
Pinkett Smith noted that Rio’s story serves as an important reminder for people to gain “an understanding around the devastation of this condition.”
