The season 5 premiere of 'Red Table Talk' opened with a silent black screen that contained a message from Jada Pinkett Smith, just three weeks after her husband, Will Smith, shockingly slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars for making a joke about her.
Jada Pinkett Smith, 50, had the chance to be on a soapbox and speak her opinion about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars during the premiere episode of her online talk show, Red Table Talk, but she shared her words without using her voice. The actress included a statement that could be read on a silent black screen in the opening seconds of the show’s first episode of its fifth season and revealed that her family is “focusing” on “healing” after getting so much exposure from Will’s slap.
“Considering all that has happened in the last few weeks, the Smith family has been focusing on deep healing,” the message read. “Some of the discoveries around our healing will be shared at the table when the time calls. Until then…the table will continue offering itself to powerful, inspiring and healing testimonies like that of our incredible impressive first guest.”
The show’s first guest was singer Janelle Monáe and once she sat at the table with Jada and crew, nothing else was said about Will or the Academy Awards incident. It’s not clear if the first episode was filmed before or after the slap happened but according to Variety, some of the new season was filmed before.
Before her latest words about the slap, which happened after Chris made a joke about Jada’s shaved head (she suffers from alopecia), Jada made headlines for breaking her silence just one day after the Oscars. She posted a cryptic message on social media and many took it as her response to the incident. “This is a season for healing, and I’m here for it,” the post read.
After Will slapped Chris, he resigned from The Academy and was banned from the Oscars for the next ten years. He also issued a statement that included an apology to Chris and all the other people he affected with his actions.
