Jada Pinkett Smith Addresses Husband Will Smith’s Oscars Slap in ‘Red Table Talk’ Season Premiere

Jada Pinkett Smith acknowledged all of the controversy surrounding the 2022 Oscars in the first Red Table Talk episode since her husband, Will Smith, got on stage during the 94th Academy Awards and slapped presenter Chris Rock for a joke he made about Pinkett Smith. The actress said in a statement at the start of Wednesday’s Facebook Watch show that a deeper discussion about the moment would come to the show at a later date.

“Considering all that has happened in the last few weeks, the Smith family has been focusing on deep healing. Some of those discoveries around our healing will be shared at the table when the time calls,” she said. “Until then … the table will continue offering itself to powerful, inspiring and healing testimonies like that of our incredibly impressive first guests.” The show debuted its fifth season Wednesday with Pinkett Smith and her daughter Willow Smith; her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris; and their first guest, singer Janelle Monáe. 

Hollywood was sent reeling on March 27, when Smith jumped on stage and slapped Rock across the face after the comedian joked that he was excited to see Pinkett Smith in G.I. Jane 2. Pinkett Smith has been open since 2018 about her alopecia diagnosis, which has caused her to lose her hair, and G.I. Jane stars Demi Moore as a woman who famously shaves her head.

After the slap, Rock declined to press charges, Los Angeles police confirmed following the ceremony, and Smith would go on to win Best Actor for his role in King Richard at the same awards ceremony. The following day, Smith apologized to Rock, admitting he was “out of line” and “embarrassed.”

“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,” Smith added. The actor would go on to resign from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was later banned from attending the Academy Awards for 10 years. At the time, Smith said in a statement that he would “accept and respect” the Academy’s decision. Pinkett Smith, meanwhile, issued a simple statement to her Instagram, writing simply, “This is a season for healing and I’m here for it.”