Jada Pinkett Smith has shocked fans as she revealed she has been separated from her husband Will Smith for seven years, meaning they weren’t together when he slapped Chris Rock

Jada Pinkett Smith has revealed she has been separated from Will Smith since 2016, with the revelation explaining why Will was so bitter towards Chris Rock.

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock over Jada Pinkett Smith

The I Am Legend star made headlines around the world during last year’s Oscars Awards ceremony when he stormed on stage and slapped Chris over a joke the comedian made about his wife’s alopecia. However, it seems their feud goes back much further.

Chris took aim at Jada back in 2016 as he hosted that year’s Academy Awards. Jada had been boycotting the ceremony as she accused the Oscars of being “so white”. In his monologue, Chris joked that the actress can’t boycott something she wasn’t invited to.

Will Smith (R) slaps US actor Chris Rock onstage
Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars ( 
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
“Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited,” Chris said. A source later revealed to People that Will “was still mad about that” when he confronted Chris in 2022. It now seems as though Chris’ boycott joke hit a nerve with Will amid his split from Jada.

Jada shocked fans as she announced she has been secretly separated from Will for seven years. She said they are still trying to “figure out” what the future of their marriage looks like.

Speaking to People magazine Jada said: “We’re still figuring it out.” She added: “We’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together. We just got deep love for each other, and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us.”

Will Smith and his wife actress Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith announced she and Will are separated ( 
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)

The 52-year-old also broke her silence on Smith’s actions at the Oscars. “I thought, ‘This is a skit’,” she admitted. Like many people watching the incident unfold on live TV, she didn’t believe it was real initially.

“I was like, ‘There’s no way that Will hit him’,” Jada said. She continued: “It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn’t a skit.”

The first words she uttered to Will once they were alone after the show were, “Are you okay?” Showing her support for Smith, she said: “I’m going to be by his side, but also allow him to have to figure this out for himself.”