"She has no shame in embarrassing this man": Jada Pinkett Smith confused by Will Smith’s “wife” remark earns netizens’ ire

Jada Pinkett Smith has finally revealed her side of the story about the Will Smith/Chris Rock 2022 Oscars controversy. In an exclusive interview on NBC's Today show, the actress told Hoda Kotb how she was "shocked" by Will Smith calling her his "wife" amidst the ordeal that went viral online.

Earlier this week, on October 11, 2023, Jada told PEOPLE that she had been separated from her husband, actor Will Smith, for six years at the time of the Oscars last year.

The Daytime Emmy Award winner told Today that she thought the slap was "a skit," adding that the couple "haven't called each other husband and wife in a long time." Fans drew on her words in her recent interviews and called her out for embarrassing Will Smith.

A fan talked about Jada's comments about the Oscars. (Image via Instagram/@hollywoodunclocked)

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Jada Pinkett Smith says she was shocked that Will Smith called her "wife"

On October 12, 2023, during a media tour for her upcoming memoir, Worthy, Jada Pinkett Smith had a tell-all with NBC's Today show host, Hoda Kotb. She revealed a lot about her relationship with her husband, Will Smith, her mental health-related struggles, and the controversial night of the Oscars in 2022.

For the uninitiated, during the Oscars last year, comedian Chris Rock made a crass joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair loss due to alopecia areata, which irked the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor. Will Smith then walked up to Rock and suddenly slapped him across his face. While returning to his seat, he yelled:

"Keep my wife’s name out of your f*cking mouth."

In an interview with PEOPLE, which was published on October 11, Jada Pinkett Smith said she was "going to be by his side, but also allow him to have to figure this out for himself."

Pinkett Smith told PEOPLE during her interview:

"I thought, ‘This is a skit." I was like, ‘There’s no way that Will hit him.’ It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn’t a skit."

According to both PEOPLE and NBC interviews, Jada Pinkett Smith revealed she had separated from Will in 2016. Talking about the instance of Will calling her his wife, she told NBC:

"'First of all, I'm really shocked because, mind you, I'm not there. We haven't called each other husband and wife in a long time. I'm like, what is going on right now?"

The whole situation reportedly surprised the Girls Trip actress and her interviews.

However, her recent interviews were heavily scrutinized by netizens online. In particular her comment about getting shocked because her husband called her his wife has garnered a lot of attention:

Following the slap, Will Smith was banned from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years, as per BBC.

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Jada Pinkett Smith opened up about her current relationship with Will Smith

Jada Pinkett Smith talked about her separation on Today, saying that by 2016, the pair were "exhausted with trying" and that they "were stuck in a fantasy" of what the other should be. When asked about the possibility of divorce, she said she did consider it, but decided against it, adding:

"I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through whatever. And I just haven’t been able to break that promise… We live separately."

However, she did say that the pair were trying to work at their relationship, continuing:

"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."

The couple got married on December 31, 1997, and have two children together named Jaden Smith and Willow Smith.

Will Smith has not commented on Jada's remarks yet.