Jada Pinkett Smith Says She Thought Oscars Slap Was ‘a Skit’… ‘Until I Realized It Wasn’t’ (Exclusive)

Jada Pinkett Smith reveals what was going through her mind when her husband Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.

“I was like, ‘This is a sketch,'” Jada, 52, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue, discussing her new book Worthy, will be released on October 17. “I thought, ‘There’s no way Will is going to hit him.’ It wasn’t until Will started walking back to his chair that I realized it wasn’t a skit.”

Will, 55, punched Rock, 58, on stage at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles after the comedian joked about Jada’s alopecia, which causes baldness and hair loss. Will would later win Best Actor during the ceremony.

Jada tells PEOPLE that the first words she said to Will when they were alone were, “Are you okay?”

Jada Pinkett Smith Says Chris Rock Asked Her Out Amid Rumors She And Will Are Divorcing (Exclusive)

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Will was banned from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences events – including the Academy Awards – for 10 years in the days following the incident. He has since apologized for his actions multiple times, including apologizing to The Rock and admitting that he simply “got lost” during an appearance on Daily show last November.

Rock, meanwhile, refrained from publicly commenting on the incident until his standup comedy special aired live on Netflix. Chris Rock: Selective Outrage March, where he said that he does not think of himself as a victim.

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A source told PEOPLE in March that Will “has been unsuccessfully trying his best to make amends to Chris” in the months since the incident. Rock’s friend and fellow comedian Leslie Jones recently told PEOPLE that the incident “really affected him.”

Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith Lived ‘Separate Lives’ Ahead of 2022 Oscars: Book Excerpt (Exclusive)

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Jada’s new memoir goes on to recount what was going through her mind during the incident, as well as the revelation that she and Will “lived separate lives and were there as a family, not as husband and wife,” in time for the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony.

“But when I hear Will yell ‘woman’ in the chaos of the moment, an inner shift Oh s—. . . I am his wife! it happens immediately,” she writes in the book.

Jada’s new memoir, Worthyhits bookshelves everywhere on October 17th.

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Source: HIS Education