Jada Pinkett Smith has addressed Will Smith's notorious Oscars slap almost one year on from its occurrence.
The actress' husband slapped comedian and host of the 2022 Oscars Chris Rock after he made a joke about Jada's alopecia. Relive the shocking moment in the video below.
WATCH: The moment Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars
Speaking in an interview with The Guardian published online on Friday, the Red Table Talk host and The Matrix Revelations actress made a rare comment about how the incident affected her.
Responding to interviewer Tshepo Mokoena's question about what she learned from having her alopecia brought into a scandal of global proportions, Jada responded: "I learned a lot about detachment. And I learned a deeper beauty within myself, being able to let my hair go."
© Photo: Getty ImagesJada with her husband Will Smith at the Oscars in 2022
The star also opened up about how she has learned to deal with her diagnosis with the autoimmune disease. Jada said her diagnosis had been "a great teacher" before continuing candidly: "[And] it's been a hard one, a scary one – because specifically as Black women, we identify so much of ourselves with our hair. And it was scary. I had to really dig deep and see the beauty of myself beyond my aesthetics."
MORE: Jada Pinkett Smith admits friendship with Will Smith's ex Sheree Zampino 'nourished' her world
During the interview the actress, who is also an accomplished producer, also discussed her experience of racism throughout her career, explaining that during her early years and into the 21st century: "I was in a world where there hadn't been a lot of learning about, or a lot of desire to understand, the Black experience. That's a new thing."
© Photo: Getty ImagesJada and her whole family photographed in November 2022
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On the same topic of her early career, she continued: "I had to navigate the necessity to be 'less Black'. How do you navigate people being threatened by your Blackness?"
The actress admitted it was "a hell of a thing to navigate" before explaining that when it came to dealing with it she found: "It's something that can either make you bitter… or it's something you can look at, not take personally, then push against."
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