Jada Pinkett Smith shared a message about “deep healing” after husband Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars — and she teased that “some of the discoveries” will be shared on the new season of her Facebook show.
Ahead of the premiere of the Season 5 episode of Smith’s “Red Table Talk” series, a statement was posted on Twitter that didn’t exactly mention what happened at the 94th Academy Awards show, where Smith struck Rock after the comedian cracked a joke about his wife’s bald head amid her hair loss battle. Instead, it vaguely referenced what’s happened in the “last few weeks” and said that the family has been focusing on “healing.”
“Considering all that has happened in the last few weeks, the Smith family has been focusing on deep healing,” the message read. “Some of the discoveries around our healing will be shared at the table when the time calls.”
— Red Table Talk (@RedTableTalk) April 20, 2022
“Until then … the table will continue offering itself to powerful, inspiring and healing testimonies like that of our incredibly impressive first guest,” it added. “Thanks for joining us, Jada.”
Following Smith’s actions at the Oscars, the “Men In Black” star apologized to Rock and conceded that he’d been “out of line” and “wrong.” Shortly after the apology, he announced he was resigning from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences amid disciplinary proceedings from the Academy over his actions on March 27.
The Academy later shared that Smith was banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years for slapping Rock, as previously reported by The Daily Wire.
“The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage,” an “Open Letter to Our Academy Family” from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Dawn Hudson and President David Rubin read in part.
“During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room,” the letter added. “For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented.”
“Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation,” it continued. “The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards.”
The Academy’s decision did not involve stripping Smith of his first ever Best Actor Oscar for his role in “King Richard,” and he remains eligible for Oscar nominations and wins in the future.