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Jada Pinkett-Smith claims Chris Rock asked her out following Will Smith divorce rumors

In a new interview, Pinkett-Smith revealed she’s been separated from her husband Will Smith since 2016.


Maria Loreto
Senior Writer
OCTOBER 12, 2023 1:28 PM EDT

Jada Pinkett-Smith and Will Smith have been together for decades. Recently, she surprised the world by revealing that she and Will Smith have lived separately since 2016. She also claims that Chris Rock asked her out on a date following some divorce rumors, and that the moment was a little awkward.

2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones   Arrivals© GettyImages
Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith

In a new interview with People, Pinkett-Smith shares that rumors about her divorce to Will Smith have always plagued their relationship. In one of those instances, she got a call from Rock, asking her out on a date. “Every summer all the reports would come out that me and Will were getting a divorce,” she said. “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.’”

Pinkett-Smith revealed that Rock was very embarassed after learning that the divorce rumors weren’t true. “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,’” she said. “He was appalled. And he profusely apologized and that was that.” She says that she will discuse the issue more extensively in her memoir, titled “Worthy”, which will be on October 17th.

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Will Smith and Chris Rock

Chris Rock and Will Smith’s history

While perhaps unrelated, Pinkett-Smith’s comments add some color to Will Smith’s infamous slap at the Oscars. In 2022, Smith slapped Rock onstage following a joke that he’d made of Pinkett-Smith being bald.

In the new interview, Pinkett-Smith claims Rock looked for her after the Oscars to apologize. “Chris came down to the end of the stage and tried to apologize to me. He said, ‘I didn't mean you any harm,’” she said. She also makes it clear that there’s been a history between Smith and Rock, one that dates back to the ‘80s, before she came in to the picture. “I’ve got to leave that to Will and Chris to talk about, but they got their stuff for sure,” she said.