Jada Pinkett Smith reveals she and Will Smith separated in 2016, netizens wonder 'so he slapped Chris Rock for nothing'

Jada Pinkett Smith has revealed that she and husband Will Smith have secretly been separated for the last seven years. In an interview to People magazine, the Set It Off actress has admitted that the pair, who tied the knot in 1997, are still trying to "figure out" what the future of their marriage looks like.

The couple share children Jaden and Willow, as well as Will's son Trey, whom he had with ex-wife Sheree Zampino. Jada admitted the pair were in fact living separately when Will Smith, 55, famously slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022, when the latter cracked a joke about his wife's bald hairstyle. Jada suffers from alopecia.

She noted that no permanent decisions have been made about the future of her marriage. "We've been doing some really heavy-duty work together. We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like", she said.

She praised the children -- Jaden, 25, Willow, 22, and Trey, 30, for standing by her during this rocky time in her relationship. "My children, they're little gurus. They've taught me a deep sense of self-acceptance. They love every part of me. The level of love, unconditional love that they have for me and their dad", Jada added.

In the chapter of her new book Worthy, titled The Holy Joke, the Holy Slap, and Holy Lessons, Jada reveals what it was like to be made fun of for her alopecia by Chris Rock and then witness her husband Will Smith slapping Chris on live television. The book Worthy is being released on October 17.

At the 94th Academy Awards, Will Smith famously slapped Chris when he joked that Jada looked like "G.I. Jane" because of her bald head, which came days after she revealed that was suffering from alopecia. Enraged by the jab, Will Smith stormed on to the stage and proceeded to slap Chris for the joke.

The slap occurred moments before he took home the Best Actor for his portrayal of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams's devoted father in the film King Richard. In a rambling acceptance speech, a sobbing Smith admitted that "love makes you do crazy things" -- but failed to apologise to Chris for the slap.

Now, after her revelation, the netizens are seeing the whole Oscars slapgate incident in new light. One of the users on X (previously known as Twitter) wrote, "So he slapped Chris for nothing?", while another added, "So Will Smith slapped a man for joking on his roommate?".

Some even defended Will taking a stand for Jada and wrote, "Separation doesn’t mean you just stop caring about someone. is that not still his wife of 30 years? the mother of his children? the woman he loves? if a woman doesn’t ~belong to you she doesn’t get protected? y’all doing it again."

So Will Smith slapped a man for joking on his roommate?

— The NWO Podcast® (@TheNWOPodcast) October 11, 2023

So he slapped Chris for nothing !!?? pic.twitter.com/uIms0oTlA1

— gripe (@sIzro3) October 11, 2023

“omg so will slapped chris for no reason!!!”

separation doesn’t mean you just stop caring about someone. is that not still his wife of 30 years? the mother of his children? the woman he loves?
if a woman doesn’t ~belong to you she doesn’t get protected? y’all doing it again. pic.twitter.com/tif5o9QGNK

— BIG BAD CHUCK (@yawningemoji) October 11, 2023

The interview with People comes amid Jada's ongoing publicity tour for her new book, which has seen her opening up about a number of difficult topics -- including her battle with depression and despair, which began when she turned 40.

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