Jada Pinkett Smith says Chris Rock asked her out amid Will Smith divorce rumours

12 October 2023 , 10:15

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Jada and Chris were friends before the shocking incident at the Oscars last year

Jada Pinkett Smith revealed Chris Rock once asked her out on a date while she was still married to Will Smith.

The 52-year-old actress confirmed yesterday she and her husband, who wed in 1997, have been separated for the last seven years, and haven’t yet divorced as they were still “figuring it out”. Their relationship was thrust into the spotlight in March last year, when Men In Black star Will stormed the stage at the Academy Awards and physically assaulted comedian Chris, who had made a joke about Jada’s alopecia.

The Girls Trip star revealed she and Will, who share three children together - Jaden, Willow, and Will’s son Trey from his first marriage - had been separated for six years at the time of the shocking incident, and in a new interview, she shared a possible reason as to why her estranged husband had slapped Chris across the face. Jada claimed her Madagascar co-star had once asked her out on a date, after he heard rumours she and WIll were divorcing.

READ MORE: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith's most telling quotes about each other as pair separate

Jada revealed she and Will have been separated for years (AFP via Getty Images)

“I think every summer all the reports would come out that me and Will were getting a divorce. And this particular summer, Chris, he thought that we were getting a divorce. So he called me and basically he was like, ‘I'd love to take you 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 rumours.’ He was appalled. And he profusely apologised and that was that,” she explained to People.

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Jada, who is set to release her new book Worthy later this month, stunned fans with her admission about the state of her marriage to Will, which was once regarded as one of the most solid relationships in Hollywood. “We’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together,” The Nutty Professor star continued. “We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us.”

Chris was slapped by Will during the shocking incident at the 2022 Oscars (Getty Images)

She later said her and Will’s split wasn’t “a divorce on paper”, but it may shed light on why the Independence Day star angrily took to the stage during the Oscars last year to slap Chris when he made a joke about Jada. The actress admitted she hadn’t spoken to the comedian since the jaw-dropping incident, but had one “desire” regarding the controversial situation. “I just hope that all the misunderstanding around this can be cleared up and that there can be peace,” she shared.

Jada confessed she had her “feelings hurt” by Chris, but refused to blame his joke for her estranged husband’s angry reaction. “I've had my feelings hurt a lot by Chris. But at the end of the day, too, being in the spotlight, it comes with the territory,” she mused.

Emma Wilson