Jada Pinkett Smith says she and Will Smith were separated for 6 years before Oscars slap

Actor Jada Pinkett Smith was surprised that her husband Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022, she told People magazine in an interview posted Wednesday. "I thought, 'This is a skit,'" she told the magazine.

Pinkett Smith also told People that at the time of the Oscars incident, she and Smith had been separated for six years.

Pinkett Smith spoke to the outlet ahead of the release of her new memoir "Worthy," which will be released by HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books later this month.

In the interview, she broke her silence about the Oscars incident, where Smith walked onstage during the awards show and struck Rock after the Oscars host made a joke about Pinkett Smith's hair, which is shaved because she has alopecia.

"I was like, 'There's no way that Will hit him,'" Pinkett Smith said. "It wasn't until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn't a skit."

After the Oscars, when the couple were alone, Pinkett Smith said she asked Smith, "Are you OK?"

Pinkett Smith told People she and Smith were "still figuring it out."

"We've been doing some really heavy-duty work together," she said. "We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us."

Pinkett Smith also opened up about her mental health in the People interview, discussing her struggles with depression — including considering suicide — and her use of the psychedelic drug ayahuasca.

She said that when she and Smith became a couple she was being treated for depression and taking Prozac.

"Once I met Will, I completely abandoned my mental health. I was so intoxicated by him and our dynamic. I really felt like I'm cured," the 52-year-old told People.

But by the time she was 40, Pinkett Smith said, she was in "so much pain."

"I couldn't figure a way out besides death," she said. "So I made a plan." She said stopped having suicidal thoughts when she started taking ayahuasca.

"It gave me a new intimate relationship with myself that I had never had before," she said.

She said Smith and their adult children have also taken it.

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If you or someone you know might be at risk of suicide, there is help. Call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.

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• Will Smith
• Jada Pinkett Smith

Alex Sundby

Alex Sundby is a senior editor for CBSNews.com.

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