Jada Pinkett Smith has revealed what happened immediately after the infamous Oscars slap, saying that a few famous faces stepped in to make sure everyone was okay – and that things actually ‘intensified’ after Will returned to his seat.
Jada has released a new tell-all autobiography, Worthy, which promises to ‘spare no details’ on Jada’s life as 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' - the latter of which took the 2022 Oscars by storm as her husband Will planted a slap on comedian Chris Rock.
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 to well with Jada, who has previously opened up about experiencing alopecia, which prompted her husband to leap up onto the stage in her defence.
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After he returned to his seat, he called up to the host: "Keep my wife's name out of your f**king mouth.”
A stunned Chris then replied: "Wow, dude. It was a G.I. Jane joke."
In the new book, Jada recalls exactly what happened that night after the now-infamous slap.
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"Where the night’s confusion intensified was when Will returned to his seat and Chris remained onstage as the clips of the nominated documentaries were being shown on the screen," she explained.
“Everyone in the room seemed frozen in shock.
"As the clips played, Chris – who was now at the edge of the stage – saw me, in the front row next to Will, and said, ‘Jada, I honestly meant no harm.’
“Will barked back at Chris once again, conveying his frustration with Chris talking to me.”
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After a commercial break was taken, Jada said Denzel Washington and Bradley Cooper – who were both nearby - ‘went to Will and huddled up, trying to ground him’.
“For the next couple of minutes, I continued to sit there by myself, trying to find my own steady ground, and was grateful for the men gathering around Will, because I was at a loss,” Jada said, adding that her publicist, alongside Will’s, came over to say Chris had left the building and was not going to press charges.
"[Will’s publicist] Meredith confirmed what I had missed: that Will had in fact made contact with Chris, who had not, as I’d thought, ducked,” Jada said.
“I looked at Will in shock. ‘You actually hit Chris?’”
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She continued: “At every commercial break, different groups of people came over to check in. One of the first people to say something to me was Lupita Nyong’o, who was sitting right behind me.
“She leaned in to ask, ‘Are you all right, Jada? I’m so sorry.’
“Reeling and numb all at once, I tried my best to assure her that I was okay. And then Nicole Kidman and her husband, Keith Urban – who are always so sweet and generous in these settings – hurried over, too.
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“I reassured and thanked them for their warm concern.”
Ramsey Naito also ‘rushed’ to Jada’s side, asking if she was okay.
“Once I saw Ramsey, my facade cracked enough for me to let her know I had no clue if I was or wasn’t,” Jada said.
“Then Tiffany Haddish came over, and Queen Latifah made her way to us as well. This made me feel... tethered.
"At least enough to shake off a bit of my disbelief.”
Topics: Celebrity, Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith
Jess Hardiman