Jada Pinkett Smith is opening up about Chris Rock and their relationship, especially since the 2022 Oscars. In an exclusive interview with People to promote her new memoir Worthy, Pinkett Smith shared more insight into her past with Rock, including the time he asked her out on a date.
Rock was shooting his shot, but didn't know the whole situation
"I think every summer all the reports would come out that me and Will were getting a divorce," she explained. "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."
She hasn't spoken to Rock since the night of the Oscars
Pinkett Smith also shared that she hasn't spoken to Rock since Will Smith slapped him on the Oscar stage.
"[Do I have] any desire to talk to Chris?" she asked. "Here's my desire: I just hope that all the misunderstanding around this can be cleared up and that there can be peace."
She is trying to put the whole debacle behind her
When asked if she felt offended by Rock's joke about her shaven head, she had a very diplomatic answer.
"I mean, that's what comedians do," she started, adding "I would just have to say that I am not really here to make any judgment on how people decide to express themselves and express their art. I'll say that several times I've had my feelings hurt, for sure."
She went on to say that she has "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."
Rock tried to apologize almost immediately for the joke
Pinkett Smith revealed that Rock's apology was swift, but there's more beneath the surface when it comes to the slap.
"Chris came down to the end of the stage and tried to apologize to me. He said, ‘I didn't mean you any harm.’ I said, ‘I can't talk about this now, Chris. This is some old s—.’ I thought this was [about] the Oscar 2016 and… their stuff that they had before I even came into the picture in the late ’80s. I’ve got to leave that to Will and Chris to talk about, but they got their stuff for sure," she said.
