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Jada Pinkett Smith addresses Oscars slap

Jada Pinkett Smith has directly addressed her husband Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars for the first time, on Red Table Talk

Jada Pinkett Smith in The Matrix

Jada Pinkett Smith has directly addressed this year’s Oscars ceremony for the first time, while introducing an episode of her talk show Red Table Talk. The episode is on alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss. Chris Rock made a tasteless joke about Jada’s bald head at the Oscars, which prompted her husband Will Smith to slap him on stage.

Pinkett Smith starts by saying; “This is a really important Red Table Talk on 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. I’m using this moment to give our alopecia family an opportunity to talk about what it’s like to have this condition, and to inform people about what alopecia actually is.”

She then says; “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 state of the world today, we need them 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. Thank you for listening.”

The timing of Rock’s offensive joke – in which he compared Pinkett Smith to GI Jane – could not have been worse, as it was mere minutes before Will Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor. Smith has since been banned from the Oscars for ten years as a consequence for the slap. It also appears as though several of his upcoming movie projects are up in the air.

Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith have been married since 1997 and have two children together. Jada Pinkett Smith is an actress known for Menace II Society, Set it Off, Scream 2, Collateral, Magic Mike XXL, Girls Trip, and the Matrix sequels. She has also been in the metal band Wicked Wisdom for a long time.

The Oscars delivered more drama than anticipated this year, check out our guide to the best drama movies.