Will Smith grateful for Jada Pinkett Smith's 'constant support' after Oscars slapgate controversy
On August 13, Saturday, Jada Pinkett Smith—who has been a strong supporter of her husband Will Smith—was spotted in Malibu with her husband. It was their first public appearance together since Will smacked Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars on March 27 over a "G I Jane" joke about Jada, who has alopecia and has shaved her head.
Following the incident, the Best Actor winner Will, 53, resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was barred from Academy functions for ten years. Will struggled for months with the fallout, so having Jada by his side has been a major relief for him.
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A source told People, "Will is doing good. He spends a lot of time with Jada. He is very happy about her constant support. They are very close and back each other up. Family is everything to them." According to the source, Will believes he has "learned a lot" during the last few months. "Will is happy about the support he always gets from Jada," the source added.
Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith spotted walking together in LA pic.twitter.com/hZVImbPQgD
— 2Cool2Blog (@2cooI2blog) August 14, 2022
The "King Richard" actor apologized to Rock, 57, and his family in a video released on his social media profiles on July 29. He gave an explanation of what transpired that evening. He asserted that after personally reaching out to Rock, he was informed that Rock was "not ready to talk" and would "reach out" when he was.
Will also made it clear in the video that Jada, 50, had nothing to do with his outburst during the Oscars. The "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star claimed in a statement days after the Oscars that he "reacted emotionally" because the punchline about Jada was "too much for me to bear."
"I made a choice on my own from my own experiences, from my history with Chris. Jada had nothing to do with it," Will said in the video. "I'm sorry, babe. I want to say sorry to my kids and my family for the heat that I've brought on all of us."
Will said that he "spent the last three months replaying and understanding the complexities and nuances of what happened." Will added, "I'm not gonna try to unpack all of that right now, but I can say to you there was no part of me that thought that was the right way to behave in that moment."
In a Red Table Talk episode, Jada also spoke about the incident, saying, "About Oscar night: My deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile. With the state of the world today, we need 'em both, and we all actually need one another more than ever. Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years — and that's [to] keep figuring out this thing called life together."