It was one of the biggest showbiz moments of 2022

Jada Pinkett Smith has spoken publicly for the first time about her husband Will Smith‘s slap of Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.

At that Oscars ceremony, Rock was hosting and made a joke that referenced the fact Pinkett Smith is bald.

Given Pinkett Smith lives with alopecia, it was an area perhaps best left alone.

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It seemed as though the moment may have passed, but Will Smith then walked up onto the stage and punched Rock in the face, repeatedly shouting “keep my wife’s name out of your mouth”.

What did Jada Pinkett Smith say about the Oscars slap?

While she initially kept her thoughts to herself, Jada Pinkett Smith has now opened up in an exclusive interview with People.

“I thought ‘This is a skit’, I was like ‘There’s no way that Will hit him’,” she recalled.

“It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn’t a skit.”

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The first words she uttered to Will once they were alone after the show were “Are you okay?”

Pinkett Smith has a book titled ‘Worthy’ coming out later this month and she also writes about the incident there.

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“I’m going to be by his side, but also allow him to have to figure this out for himself,” she explained.

Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s separation

Within the same interview with People, Pinkett Smith revealed that her and her husband have actually been separated for seven years and they live separately.

That means they had long broken up when that moment at the 2022 Oscars took place.

Despite the split, they do not intend to get a divorce and she explained the reasoning for that.

“I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce,” she said.

“We will work through whatever. I just haven’t been able to break that promise.”