Jada Pinkett Smith has said she thought that her husband's infamous slap of Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars ceremony was a "skit" at first.
Smith, who was nominated for the best actor prize and went on to win, took the stage and slapped the comedian, who was hosting the ceremony, after he made a joke about his wife's hair loss.
Pinkett Smith, who was seated next to Smith in the front row, told People magazine as part of a publicity push for her new autobiography, Worthy: "I thought, 'This is a skit’.
"I was like, ‘There’s no way that Will hit him.'
"It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realised it wasn’t a skit."
She added that the first words she uttered to husband once they were alone after the show were "Are you OK?"
The actress has been headlines around the world already today with her revelation that she and her husband have been separated since 2016, meaning that she and Smith had been separated for six years at the time of the incident.
Additional reporting: Press Association
