Jada Pinkett Smith Speaks out Following Will Smith-Chris Rock Oscars Incident

By Michael Hein

Jada Pinkett Smith broke her silence on Tuesday for the first time since her husband's altercation at the Oscars. Pinkett Smith was thrust into the center of a confrontation between Will Smith and Chris Rock that has led to an onslaught of moral debates online. To Pinkett Smith, it was simply a sign of the times.

"This is a season for healing and I'm here for it," Pinkett Smith wrote in a simple text post on Instagram on Tuesday. It consisted of black lettering on a pale white backdrop, and it was posted without a caption. Pinkett Smith limited who was allowed to comment on the post, but a few people were able to drop heart emojis. The post itself has almost 42,000 likes at the time of this writing.

Although people can't comment directly on the post, many have taken the liberty of re-posting screenshots on other social media platforms to discuss it. Many have different interpretations of what Pinkett Smith means by this post, and how she really feels about the whole situation. Some suspect we will never know for sure.

The post does not directly reference the situation on everyone's minds – on Sunday night while presenting an Oscar, Chris Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith's bald hairstyle, referring to her as "G.I. Jane." Will Smith then walked on stage in the middle of the ceremony and slapped Rock forcefully in the face, then returned to his seat where he screamed obscenities at Rock.

"Keep my wife's name out of your f-ing mouth!" Smith said twice. Smith was not removed from the ceremony and just a short while later he was given the award for best actor. In his acceptance speech, he apologized to his colleagues and the viewing audience but not to Rock himself. The following day he posted a more thorough apology online.

"Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night's Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. 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," he wrote. "I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness."

"I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us," Smith concluded.

There are too many layers here to summarize easily, but it's worth remembering that Rock and Pinkett Smith have worked together several times over the years and seem to be on friendly terms. Pinkett Smith has been open about her recent diagnosis of Alopecia in the last few months, but it's very plausible that Rock does not watch Pinkett Smith's talk show and thus did not know about her condition when he made his joke. Sources close to him have told TMZ that he did not know about Pinkett Smith's Alopecia.

Beyond that, many fans think that this whole outburst was about much more than the Alopecia. The Smith family has been making headlines for the last few years with some intense public revelations, especially about Jada and Will's marriage. For better or worse, it looks like that publicity will continue.

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