After more than two months of silence on the now infamous incident, actor Jada Pinkett Smith has finally spoken out about the now infamous incident in which her husband actor Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the live broadcast of the Oscars in March.
And fans are pointedly divided on her perspective.
Pinkett Smith's comments came during a recent episode of her Facebook talk show Red Table Talk, in which she used the incident and the baldness joke of Rock's that sparked it to talk about the hair loss condition alopecia, from which she suffers.
And while some applauded her for using the incident to raise awareness for an important cause, others felt she was cleverly evading the Oscars incident by shifting the topic to her condition.
See her Red Table Talk segment below.
Joined as usual by daughter Willow and mother Adrienne Banfield Norris, Pinkett Smith's panel also included Nicole Ball, whose 12-year-old daughter Rio died by suicide just two weeks before the Oscars after relentless bullying over her alopecia-related baldness.
Pinkett Smith only obliquely referenced the Oscars incident at first, instead focusing on the hair loss condition.
She said:
"This is a really important Red Table Talk on alopecia."
"Considering what I've been through with my own health and what happened at the Oscars, thousands have reached out to me with their stories."
"I'm using this moment to give our alopecia family an opportunity to talk about what it's like to have this condition and to inform people about what alopecia actually is."
Later in the episode, Pinkett Smith addressed the Oscars incident more directly, but focused solely on her hopes for reconciliation between Smith and Rock.
"Now, about Oscar night, my deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out, and reconcile."
"The state of the world today, we need them both, and we all actually need one another more than ever."
"Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years, and that’s keep figuring out this thing called life together."
For many on Twitter, Pinkett Smith's commentary seemed like little more than a dodge of the topic, and some were angered by the diversion.
This is awful. Jada brings on a mother of a child who killed herself because of bullying from alopecia, trying to paint a picture where Smith’s violent reaction at the Oscar’s was justified. She is terrible. https://t.co/AOYvigaUIa
— Kathleen McKinley (@KatMcKinley) June 1, 2022
She didn't open up about "the Oscars," she discussed alopecia, a completely different story.
— WandaWomanEh (@WandaWomanEh) June 2, 2022
Girl just sit this out for a couple of years, we don’t believe you pic.twitter.com/wq1SWOWj73
— SuperiorLurking®️ (@JeffreeGarcon) June 2, 2022
I really can’t stand Jada Pinkett Smith atp. The toxicity and fake deep BS irks me
— BIG MEECH (no BMF) (@IsthatMEECH) June 1, 2022
I swear Jada Pinkett Smith be saying so much and nothing at the same time😂
— Fadeaway (@nellgotthejokes) June 1, 2022
I think everybody was waiting on @jadapsmith to comment on allegations of provoking Will. I think it’s great she’s advocating for #Alopecia! … now it’s time to read the room and address the 🐘
— chanluxe (@chanluxe) June 1, 2022
But many others felt the backlash was totally unjustified, and applauded Pinkett Smith for using a negative incident for a positive impact.
Jada Pinkett-Smith hate train is so corny fr. People just want to hate her and y’all do this to a lot of women on the internet 🤷🏽♀️
— 🖤 (@elitebigbro) June 1, 2022
As I’ve kinda been saying, ppl despise Jada Pinkett Smith lol. She released a clip saying she hopes Will & Chris basically make amends…ppl killing her and she ain’t do nothing lol
— The Inebriated Genius (@blktarheel24) June 1, 2022
This is the side of Jada I love! I want more of this! We need more of this in the world! Mindfulness is the solution. @jadapsmith
— Rosanna McCoy (@RosannaMcCoy60) June 1, 2022
Jada Pinkett Smith has always been relevant. Just say you hate Black women and move aside. https://t.co/KgFaBDuibt
— Jason (Recast T'Challa) (@EscaflowneClown) June 1, 2022
The controversy continues, it seems...