Entertainment

Jada Pinkett Smith Grateful For Will Smith’s ‘Holy Slap’ At Chris Rock

“I nearly didn’t even attend the Oscars that year, but I’m glad I did,” she said during a new interview.

Would it really be the end of the year if we weren’t rounding up all the new information we learned about Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s marriage?

Arturo Holmes / FilmMagic

As has now come to be expected, 2023 gave us a handful of new insights about the famous duo — perhaps most notably the revelation that they have been secretly separated for seven years.

Amy Sussman / Getty Images for Critics Choice Association

While promoting her new memoir, Worthy, in October, Jada told Hoda Kotb during an exclusive NBC special that she and Will — who tied the knot in 1997 — have been living “completely separate lives” since 2016.

NBC / Nathan Congleton / NBC via Getty Images

She explained during the interview that their marriage was “fractured” by “a lot of things,” and that she and Will made the decision to take some time apart after they’d both become “exhausted with trying.”

NBC / Nathan Congleton / NBC via Getty Images

“I think we were both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be,” she said.

Valerie Macon / AFP via Getty Images

Of course, given that Jada and Will had been publicly presenting themselves as a couple during their break, the revelation that they weren’t even living together anymore came as quite the surprise.

Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Critics Choice Association

However, Jada emphasized that a divorce won’t ever be in the cards for her and Will: “I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. … We will work through whatever.”

Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic

Discussing Will frequently throughout the press tour, Jada gave some insight into the current nature of their relationship, revealing that they’re now fully committed to rebuilding their bond.

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“We are working very hard at bringing our relationship together … back to a life partnership,” she said during an appearance on Today in October. “He can’t be this perfect, idealized husband. I have to be able to accept him for the human he is.”NBC / Nathan Congleton / NBC via Getty ImagesAs for the turning point in the separation period, Jada surprised fans by confessing it was the moment Will slapped Chris Rock in her defense at the 2022 Oscars when she realized they needed to work things out.

Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images

“I was like, ‘I’m riding with you,’” she recalled of the incident during a public appearance earlier this year. “‘I didn’t come into this place as your wife, but I’m leaving here as your wife because we got a storm we’re going to have to deal with together.’”

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And now Jada is doubling down on her experience and talking more about why the viral moment had such a deep impact on their marriage.

Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images

“I nearly didn’t even attend the Oscars that year, but I’m glad I did,” Jada revealed during a new interview with You magazine, via People magazine. “I call it the ‘holy slap’ now because so many positive things came after it.”

Neilson Barnard / Getty Images

Reflecting on the controversy — which came about after Chris made a joke at Jada’s expense while presenting an award onstage at the ceremony — Jada emphasized that she knew instantly that she wanted to recommit to Will.

Valerie Macon / AFP via Getty Images

“That moment of the shit hitting the fan is when you see where you really are,” she said. “After all those years trying to figure out if I would leave Will’s side, it took that slap for me to see I will never leave him.”

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She added, “Who knows where our relationship would be if that hadn’t happened?”

Axelle / FilmMagic

And just as Jada has spoken about the profound positive impact that the controversy had on her life, Will recently seemed to echo similar sentiments while opening up about how “adversities of the last couple years” reaffirmed his life’s mission.

Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images

“Fame is a unique monster. I’ve had to be really careful,” he said during an appearance at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia this month.

Eamonn M. Mccormack / Getty Images for the Red Sea International Film Festival

“You can’t get excited when everybody is saying good things about you, because the more you take when people are saying good things about you, the more hurt you’re gonna be when people are saying bad things about you,” he added, perhaps alluding to the Oscars backlash.

Emma Mcintyre / Getty Images

“And I can’t need others to applaud for me to stay focused on my mission,” he went on, adding that he has to “be clear about who [he is] and what [he is] attempting to do in the world.”

Eamonn M. Mccormack / Getty Images for the Red Sea International Film Festival

“I have always wanted to put good into the world,” he said. “I have always wanted to make people smile. I have always been devoted to the process of joy and inspiration.”

Daniele Venturelli / Getty Images for the Red Sea International Film Festival

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𝑁𝑒𝑡𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑥 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑎𝑤 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑒 (2025), 𝑎 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑐𝑦 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟-𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒…

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