The seeming frosty relationship between Will Smith, Chris Rock, and Jada Pinkett Smith now appears to predate the 2022 Oscars incident.
In her new memoir “Worthy,” Pinkett Smith disclosed that Chris Rock had asked her out on a date a few years ago, during a period when rumors of her potential divorce from Will Smith were circulating. Pinkett Smith, 52, revealed that reports about her and Will Smith’s marriage issues would often emerge each summer.
She continued that during a specific summer, Rock believed that Pinkett Smith and Will Smith were headed for divorce. He therefore reached out to Pinkett Smith and expressed his interest in taking her 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,” Pinkett Smith recalled. “And he profusely apologized and that was that,” Pinket Smith told People.
Rock is yet to comment on the revelation. But, the last time the two were in the presence of each other was at the Oscars when the comedian passed a joke about Pinkett Smith’s clean-shaven head at the Oscars.
During the awards ceremony, Rock after presenting an award humorously said he anticipated seeing Pinkett Smith in a hypothetical movie sequel, “G.I. Jane 2,” which elicited laughter from the audience.
Will Smith, the “Summertime” singer, who did not take the joke lightly, physically confronted Rock, the creator of “Everybody Hates Chris,” on stage by slapping him during the Oscars broadcast. He has since been slapped with a 10-year ban from attending the Academy Awards.
Commenting on the incident, Pinkett Smith revealed that she has not engaged Rock since the controversy.
“[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 explained.
She indicated that people hurting her feelings is a reality she has become accustomed to, but, she has learned to take it in good faith, especially from comedians.
“I mean, that’s what comedians do,” she stated. “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.”
