Jada Pinkett Smith is finally letting the world know what she thinks about Chris Rock’s Selective Outrage. The Netflix comedy special, which debuted on the streaming giant in March, marked the only time he has candidly spoken in detail about being slapped by Will Smith at the 2022 Oscars after making the actress the butt of a joke about her shaved head.
Contrary to Rock’s fans who packed the Hippodrome Theatre in her hometown of Baltimore finding his rant about the couple funny, she did not. “I remember my heart piercing, my heart cracking, and I remember my feelings being so hurt,” Pinkett Smith told The New York Times in a new interview. “And then I remember being able to smile and wish him well at the same time.”
The “Saturday Night Live” alum held nothing back as he ripped Hollywood’s former golden couple, especially his Madagascar co-star. “Everybody who really knows, knows I had nothing to do with that s**t. I didn’t have any entanglements,” said the comedic icon. “His wife was f**king her son’s friend. I normally would not talk about this s**t… I have no idea why two talented people would do something that f**king lowdown… She hurt him way more than he hurt me… Everybody called him a b**ch, and who [does] he hit? Me,” said Rock.
In an NBC News special, she told “TODAY” co-anchor Hoda Kotb that after being slapped, Rock approached her and apologized for the joke that enraged Smith. “Chris looks to me, and he says, ‘Jada, I meant no harm,’” she claimed. The “Red Table Talk” host also alleges that, like everyone else in the room and those watching at home, she initially thought the slap was a skit. She would also go on to claim that the two men share a long history that may shed light on their lack of kinship.
Pinkett Smith is currently promoting her upcoming memoir, “Worthy,” with a series of interviews that leave no stone unturned. The book is filled with bombshells, like details about the Smiths’ decision to privately separate in 2016 and a claim that Rock once asked the actress on a date amid rumors she was headed for a divorce. The book hits shelves next week on Oct. 17.