Jada Pinkett Smith has said that she initially thought the moment her husband Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars was a pre-planned skit.
Smith hit Rock during the awards ceremony in March 2022, after the comedian made a joke about Pinkett Smith's shaved head. In the past, Pinkett Smith has publicly spoken about having alopecia and losing her hair due to the condition.
In a new interview with People published Wednesday, Pinkett Smith said: "I thought, 'This is a skit.' I was like, 'There's no way that Will hit him.' It wasn't until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn't a skit."
Pinkett Smith added that the first words she said to her husband when they were alone following the event were: "Are you okay?"
She also said of her husband: "I'm going to be by his side but also allow him to have to figure this out for himself."
Will Smith has apologized for the incident publicly on multiple occasions.
Smith first apologized to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which presents the Oscars, during his acceptance speech for best actor on the same night as the incident.
A day later, he issued an Instagram apology to Rock.
"Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night's Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable," Smith said in the Instagram post. "Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally."
Amid the fallout of the controversial moment, Smith resigned from the Academy before he was hit with a 10-year ban from all AMPAS events.
A few months after the event, Smith posted a six-minute video on his YouTube channel in which he apologized publicly to Rock again. Smith said he had reached out privately to Rock, but the comedian had yet to agree to talk.
Meanwhile, Rock has used the incident as fodder for his standup comedy sets, making jokes about the slap and the Smith family.
