(L-R) Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith / Getty Images
LOS ANGELES - Jada Pinkett Smith dropped some major bombshells Wednesday while promoting her forthcoming memoir, "Worthy."
This includes revealing she and husband Will Smith have been separated since 2016. The couple, who have been married since 1997 and share two children together, have still appeared together in public as a united front – including the infamous night at the 2022 Oscars in which Smith slapped host Chris Rock.
Pinkett Smith went on to claim that years prior to the "slap heard around the world," Rock asked her out on a date when divorce rumors began to swirl.
"I think every summer all the reports would come out that me and Will were getting a divorce," she told "People." "And this particular summer, Chris, he thought that we were getting a divorce. So he called me and basically he was like, ‘I'd love to take you out.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ He was like, ‘Well, aren't you and Will getting a divorce?’ I was like, ‘No. Chris, those are just rumors.’ He was appalled. And he profusely apologized and that was that."
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Pinkett Smith went on to say she thought the entire Smith-Rock slap at the Oscars was a skit.
"It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn’t a skit," and she asked him, "Are you okay?"
As a result, Smith was banned from attending the Academy Awards for 10 years.
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Academy bans actor Will Smith from attending ceremonies for 10 years
Extra correspondent Jenn Lahmers joined FOX 11 Special Report to talk about the Academy's decision to ban Will Smith for 10 yeas.
Pinkett Smith looked back on the incident, revealing she hasn't spoken to Rock since the scandal.
"[Do I have] any desire to talk to Chris? Here’s my desire: I just hope that all the misunderstanding around this can be cleared up and that there can be peace," she said.
"I’ll say that several times I’ve had my feelings hurt, for sure. I’ve had my feelings hurt a lot by Chris. But at the end of the day, too, being in the spotlight, it comes with the territory," she added.
She also said she hasn’t been able to bring herself to legally get divorced, despite living separately from Smith for the last seven years.
Pinkett Smith’s memoir will be available Oct. 17.