Advertisement
Leon Bennett/Getty; Karwai Tang/Getty
Vivica A. Fox held back tears as she opened up about Jada Pinkett Smith’s comments about her husband Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at this year’s Academy Awards.
In the Thursday episode of The Wendy Williams, The 57-year-old actress said Jada took “no responsibility” for her role in Wednesday’s incident Conversation at the Red Table.
“It will be difficult for me. These are my colleagues. I made a film with both of them. Turn it off with Jada and independence Day with Will Smith, which absolutely changed my life. When I saw this video last night it made me cry, I’ll be very honest with you guys,” she shared emotionally.
TIED TOGETHER: Jada Pinkett Smith speaks at RTT about the Oscars 2022: My “hope” is that Will Smith, Chris Rock “reconcile”
“I really felt like a partner with Will Smith, whose career basically collapsed that night,” she added. “We all fired for Will Smith that night – Oscar night. We wanted him to win. I think Will Smith would be crowned this generation’s Sidney Poitier that night, which is a great honour.”
Fox then shared why she felt Jada, 50, played a role in the incident, which took place after Rock joked about Jada’s shaved head leading Will to go on stage and punch the comedian.
“Will Smith was defending her honor, that’s why he went on stage and slapped her because he felt his wife was offended, so I don’t see any responsibility as a partner,” she explained. “And let’s not forget that Chris Rock was attacked. We can’t forget that because I was basically telling a joke that I really didn’t think was that bad.”
TIED TOGETHER: Will Smith talks about ‘pain’ in New David Letterman Special taped ahead of the Oscars
She continued, “Let’s not forget that the show was produced by Will Packer, who is African American. This night was a night of African Americans and diversity for brown and black people. That will now be marked forever.”
Fox hoped Will and Jada would take more responsibility for their actions after the incident.
“I love the Smiths. I know their children. I watched them grow up,” she said. “I just wish we could take on a little more responsibility and it didn’t seem so self-righteous on Jada’s part, and those are my feelings.”
David Livingston/Getty; Karwai Tang/Getty; Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images From left: Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Chris Rock
TIED TOGETHER: Will Smith traveled to India a month after the Oscars for spiritual reasons: source
Wednesdays Conversation at the Red TableAddressing the audience directly, Jada said, “About Oscar night. My deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, to speak out, and to reconcile.”
“Given the state of the world today, we need them both, and we all need each other more than ever,” he said girl trip actress next.
“Until then, Will and I will continue to do what we’ve done for the past 28 years — and this is [to] keep figuring out this thing called living together. Thanks for listening,” Jada concluded.
Don’t miss a story – subscribe The free daily newsletter from PEOPLE to keep up to date with the best that PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
Will, 53, has been banned from future ceremonies and related events by the academy for 10 years for punching Rock, 57, on stage during the March ceremony when the comedian cracked a joke that touched on Jada’s appearance. The actress has alopecia.
Since the incident, Will – who won an award for his performance in Best Actor King Richard — has publicly apologized to Rock, saying that he “reacted emotionally” because the “joke about Jada’s health condition was too much for me”.
the previous Fresh Prince of Bel Air Star also resigned from the academy. Will then traveled to India to practice yoga and meditation, a source told PEOPLE last month.
Two days after the incident, Jada broke her social media silence with a message on her Instagram grid that read, “This is a healing time and I’m here for it.”
