Jada Pinkett Smith was ‘shocked’ after Will Smith called her his wife at the Oscars

Jada Pinkett-Smith was one of the key figures at the Oscars 2022. After Chris Rock made a joke about her alopecia, Will Smith climbed aboard stage and slapped him. Before that, he yelled, “Get my wife’s name out your mouth.”

Pinkett-Smith was surprised for multiple reasons, including the fact that he referred to her as his wife.

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In an interview with Hoda Kobt for NBC News, Pinkett-Smith relayed some of what went through her mind during that moment. “First of all, I’m really shocked, because mind you, I’m not there. We haven’t called each other husband and wife in a long time,” she said. “I’m like, ‘What is going on right now? Keep my wife’s name out of your mouth?’ I’m really worried for Will because I don’t know what’s going on.”

Pinkett-Smith is publishing a tell-all memoir this year titled “Worthy,” where she’s exploring her life and her marriage to Will Smith. While she and Smith remain married, the two have been separated since 2016. She makes it clear that while it wasn’t a divorce on paper, it was a divorce in the sense that they live apart and don’t maintain a romantic relationship.

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“I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through ... whatever,” said Pinkett-Smith. “I just haven’t been able to break that promise."

According to Dey Sreet Books, the publisher of Pinkett-Smith’s book, the memoir explores multiple topics and is described as “rollercoaster ride from the depths of suicidal depression to the heights of personal rediscovery and the celebration of authentic feminine power.”