One week since Jada Pinkett Smith first revealed that she and Will Smith have been separated for years, Smith acted like he was responding with an “official statement” on Instagram. But it was mostly a joke about the media buzz around Pinkett Smith’s new memoir Worthy.
“I’ve got something for you. Here’s the thing: My opinion…” Smith begins to say, before being caught up in a theatrical sneeze. The point of view then zooms way out, showing different CGI terrains across the planet — seeming to imply that there are much bigger problems in the world than this one celebrity couple’s relationship.
Representatives for Smith and Pinkett Smith did not immediately respond to EW’s request for further comment on the video.
In an interview with Today that first aired on Oct. 11, Pinkett Smith revealed that she and Smith have been separated since 2016, despite their public image as a unified couple. That image had continued even through last year’s Oscars ceremony, in which Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock on stage for making a joke about Pinkett Smith’s hair loss before going on to win the prestigious Best Actor award (he was later handed a 10-year ban from attending the Oscars).
Despite their separation, Pinkett Smith insists that “I did not cheat on Will Smith, no matter how sad he looked at that table” — referring to a Red Table Talk interview the two did back in 2020 where she confessed to an “entanglement” with R&B singer August Alsina.
In talking about Worthy, Pinkett Smith also revealed that she has struggled with suicidal ideation: “I couldn’t figure out why this beautiful life that I had wasn’t satisfying. I was driving through Mulholland and looking for cliffs to drive over,” she told Kelly Ripa on Live With Kelly and Mark on Monday.
Before the new Instagram reel, Smith’s main public response to these revelations have been quotes to The New York Times in their recent profile of Pinkett Smith.
“When you’ve been with someone for more than half of your life,” Smith wrote in an email to the Times, “a sort of emotional blindness sets in, and you can all too easily lose your sensitivity to their hidden nuances and subtle beauties.”
Worthy is on sale now.
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