Jada Pinkett Smith Reveals What She Hopes Happens Between Will Smith And Chris Rock Now
Reverberations from Will Smith's slap of Chris Rock continued to be felt long after the 2022 Academy Awards wrapped up. A day after the altercation — on March 29 — the "King Richard" actor released a lengthy apology on Instagram to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Rock. "I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong," Will wrote. That same day, Jada Pinkett Smith made an Instagram post that hinted at learning from the controversial experience. "This is a season for healing and I'm here for it," the "Girls Trip" star posted.
Even though Will was still awarded his Best Actor Oscar following the on-stage slap, he was later handed down a punishment from the Academy. On April 8, they announced that the "Bad Boys" star would be banned from attending the Oscars, and other Academy-related events, for 10 years for what they deemed "unacceptable and harmful behavior," per Deadline. Similar to Jada's social media post, the Academy mentioned "healing" in their official statement. "We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted," they wrote.
Later that month, Jada made her return to "Red Table Talk" for the first time since the infamous incident, and discussed how her family was coping. "The Smith family has been focused on deep healing," she said on April 21 (via CNN). In a later episode, Jada elaborated on what she wished for her husband and Rock.
Why Jada Pinkett Smith thinks a truce is important
At the opening of the June 1 episode of "Red Table Talk," Jada Pinkett Smith addressed Will Smith's slap of Chris Rock while discussing alopecia. "Considering what I've been through with my own health, and what happened at the Oscars, thousands have reached out to me with their stories," the talk show host said.
Jada then outlined what she wanted to happen between her husband and Rock. "Now, about Oscar night: My deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out, and reconcile," the "Collateral" actor said. The "Red Table" host discussed why she felt it was important for the two A-listers to make amends. "With the state of the world today, we need them both — and we all actually need one another more than ever," she said.
Even though Jada expressed a strong desire for Will and Rock to bury the hatchet, a reconciliation may not be in the cards. Not long after the on-stage attack, a source revealed how the comedian felt about possibly repairing the relationship. "He can't imagine forgiving Will, being friends with him. It is just a very weird thing to fully envelope," the insider told Hollywood Life on April 8. Adding to the tension between Will and Rock, the comedian's own mother Rose has voiced how personally she took the Oscars hit. "When he slapped Chris, he slapped all of us," Rock's mother told WIS-5 on April 22.