While Will and Jada Pinkett Smith aren’t exactly getting the attention of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, their love life (or lack thereof) and marriage (uh, or lack thereof) has been swirling around pop culture in the past couple of weeks. After Jada revealed that she and Will Smith have been separated since 2016, the Oscar-winning actor has been forced to give his side of the story. And, not surprisingly, he still comes off like a bit of a wimp…
In an email to The New York Times (via Deadline), Will Smith said Jada’s comments “kind of woke [him] up”, adding that his wife was more “resilient, clever and compassionate than [he’d] understood.” Smith added, “When you’ve been with someone for more than half of your life, a sort of emotional blindness sets in…And you can all too easily lose your sensitivity to their hidden nuances and subtle beauties.”
Such apparent nuances and beauties pushed Will Smith to the brink at the 94th Academy Awards when he slapped presenter Chris Rock for making a G.I. Jane joke about Jada’s shaved head. The second real crime came when the eventual Best Actor winner (for King Richard) wasn’t escorted out of the Dolby Theatre immediately after, which many rightly believe should have happened considering he assaulted another man.
Will Smith’s comments come in reaction to Jada’s memoir, Worthy, which hits shelves on October 17th. The book itself also makes the revelation that sometime after Chris Rock’s own divorce the comedian asked Jada out on a date, possibly a source to the strife between Rock and the Smiths and adding another dimension to what led up to The Slap.
The Slap had an impact on basically involved parties. Chris Rock, however, would be the one who would come out on top, dishing out his take in his Netflix special Selective Outrage. Will Smith, on the other hand, may have cost himself at least another Oscar nomination for Emancipation, portraying Peter, harrowing photos of whom helped show the conditions of enslaved people in the United States at the time. While Smith did still earn praise for his performance, it wasn’t entirely impossible for him to have grabbed back-to-back Oscars had he demonstrated couth during the awards ceremony.
What do you think about Will Smith’s reaction to Jada’s memoir revelations? How will his public change (if at all) as a result? Give us your take below!