Jada Pinkett Smithis looking back on the aftermath of her husbandWill Smith’sOscarsincident.
“It was ridiculous in how far it went,” Jada, 52, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue, reflecting on the rumors that she was somehow to blame for when Will, 55,struck Chris Rockat the 94thAcademy Awards.
“But I also understood at the same time. Considering the false narrative that I had cheated on Will or I was like some adulteress, Will had never done that before,” Jada says. “And I think that when we just look at human nature… when you look at the breadcrumbs, people need something to blame.”
“And so people not knowing what was happening behind the scenes, I surely wasn’t surprised that I got blamed,” she adds of how some interpreted the incident. “But I understood that that’s just the human nature of it all.”
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith at the 94th Academy Awards on March 27, 2022.Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Will, whowon the Oscar for Best Actorduring that same ceremony, subsequently received a 10-yearbanfrom attending Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences events — including the Oscars — in the days following the incident.
Will previously stated his wife “had nothing to do” with his reaction to Rock’s joke, which mocked Jada’s alopecia. Among otherapologiesWill has made for the incident, he shared a video to hisFacebook pageandYouTubein July 2022 in which he directly denied that Jada “[told Will] to do something” in response to Rock.
Amy Sussman/Getty
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“It’s like… I made a choice on my own from my own experiences, from my history with Chris. Jada had nothing to do with it,” Will said in that video at the time. “I’m sorry, babe. I want to say sorry to my kids and my family for the heat that I’ve brought on all of us.”
Obidigbo Nzeribe
“I was like, ‘There’s no way that Will hit him,' " she says. “It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn’t a skit.”
Jada tells PEOPLE that the first words she spoke to Will once they were alone after the Oscars broadcast had ended were: “Are you okay?”
Her new memoir,Worthy, hits bookshelves everywhere Oct. 17.
source: people.com
