Jada Pinkett Smith explains why she rolled her eyes during Oscars slap incident
Topics: Celebrity, Jada Pinkett Smith, Oscars, Will Smith, TV And Film, Books
Jess Hardiman
Featured Image Credit: ABC/ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity, Jada Pinkett Smith, Oscars, Will Smith, TV And Film, Books
Jada Pinkett Smith has explained why she rolled her eyes during the Oscars slap incident, saying it actually had nothing to do with ‘personal offense’.
Jada has released a new tell-all autobiography Worthy, which promises to ‘spare no details’ on Jada’s life.
She shares an ‘intimate conversation with readers’, answering questions about ‘her difficult childhood, her marriage, her parenting style, her career choices, and the intense scrutiny that followed 'the slap'.
You know the one that took the 2022 Oscars by storm as her husband, the Fresh Prince himself, planted a slap on comedian, Chris Rock.
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Things spiralled when Chris made a joke about Jada’s shaved head, saying she looked like ‘GI Jane’ - the titular character from the 1997 film in which actor, Demi Moore, sported a similar look.
This didn’t go down too well with Jada, who has previously opened up about experiencing alopecia, which prompted Will to leap up onto the stage in her defence.
After he returned to his seat, he called up to the host: "Keep my wife's name out of your f*cking mouth.”
A stunned Chris replied: "Wow, dude. It was a G.I. Jane joke."
Speaking about the incident in the book, Jada wrote: “The rolling of my eyes. Might I explain.
"When Chris came our to present an award, made some jokes, got lots of laughs, and, like comics do, decided to milk his time onstage, he saw me and my bald head and ad-libbed: ‘Jada, I love ya, G.I Jane Two, can’t wait to see it.’
“Just like I’d thought, he wasn’t able to help himself, and I rolled my eyes.
“It was not because of the jab at my alopecia but, honestly, about the people I had met whose condition was far worse than mine.
She continued: “That was indeed a very light joke, as many expressed, but it was not about me. I was frustrated that the majority of folks can’t seem to understand how devastating alopecia can be.
“My heart broke for the many who live in shame, the children who have committed suicide after being teased and taunted by their classmates.
“And now the Oscars, in all its political correctness, was telling the world it was okay to make jokes at the expense of a woman suffering from alopecia?
“It was disheartening. And I didn’t take personal offense. I took offense because the condition of alopecia was being mocked. I was going to be fine. That was just another day in the salt mines of the world we inhabited.”
Jada added: “My eye roll was me reacting authentically and simply being... human. I didn’t feel like fakin’ it anymore.”