Red Table Talk is planning to address the Will Smith–Chris Rock Oscars incident — just not yet.
In a message at the top of Wednesday’s pre-taped episode of the Emmy-winning Facebook Watch series, hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith, her daughter Willow Smith and her mother Adrienne Banfield, the show confirmed that Smith slapping Chris Rock at this year’s Academy Awards, and the fall out that followed, will be addressed in some capacity.
“Considering all that has happened in the last few weeks, the Smith family has been focused on deep healing,” the message reads. “Some of the discoveries around our healing will be shared at the table when the time calls.”
The message does not specify when the show might address the physical altercation between Smith and Rock and what elements that followed — including Smith’s 10-year ban from the Oscars — will be discussed. However, it does go on to promise that “the table will continue offering itself to powerful, inspiring and healing testimonies” until that undisclosed date.
The message aired ahead of a discussion with eight-time Grammy nominee Janelle Monáe, who discusses her no longer identifying as a woman, what inspired her to come out at age 32 and how she overcame fears of abandonment and healed from trauma around her father’s drug addiction.
Other pre-taped episodes slated to air this season will feature Ireland Baldwin and her mother and Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger, Tinder Swindler victim Ayleen Charlotte and Rachel DeLoache Williams, best-selling author of My Friend Anna which chronicles being scammed by fake German heiress Anna Delvey, as well as Smith siblings Willow, Jaden and Trey in their first solo episode.
During the 2022 telecast held on Sunday in L.A. at the Dolby Theatre, Oscar-winner Smith took to the stage and slapped Rock across the face after the presenter and comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife Pinkett Smith, her bald hairstyle and the film G.I. Jane. Following the incident, Smith accepted his award for best actor and apologized to the Academy and others for his behavior.
The next day, in a public statement posted to his social media, the King Richard actor directly addressed Rock. “I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be,” Smith wrote. He later announced he was resigning from the Academy amid a then-pending investigation of his actions during the ceremony. That investigation resulted in a 10-year ban for Smith from the show and all Oscars-related events.
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter