Chris Rock asked Jada Pinkett Smith out on a date amid divorce rumors with Will Smith

In her upcoming memoir, “Worthy,” Jada Pinkett Smith revealed that Chris Rock once proposed a date, believing that she and her husband, Will Smith, were on the brink of divorce. 

In an interview with People Magazine published today (Oct. 11), the actress delved into the specifics of the situation. She shared, “I think every summer, all the reports would come out that me and Will were getting a divorce. And this particular summer, Chris, he thought that we were getting a divorce.” 

Jada Pinkett continued, “So he called me, and basically, he was like, ‘I’d love to take you out.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ He was like, ‘Well, aren’t you and Will getting a divorce?’ I was like, ‘No. Chris, those are just rumors.’ He was appalled. And he profusely apologized, and that was that.”

Notably, the actress formally announced that she and Will have been secretly separated since 2016. The revelation arrived today in a preview clip of her forthcoming prime-time special that will be hosted by NBC News’ Hoda Kotb on Friday (Oct. 13).

Jada Pinkett told Kotb, “I think by the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying. I think we were both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Jada Pinkett revealed that she hasn’t had direct communication with Rock since the Oscars altercation in March 2022 when her husband slapped the comedian onstage. She shared, “[Do I have] any desire to talk to Chris? Here’s my desire: I just hope that all the misunderstanding around this can be cleared up and that there can be peace.”

The talk show host added, “I talk about this in the book. I think that there might be some misunderstanding between Chris and I as far as the 2016 Oscars. I think that he might’ve taken offense, which I meant no harm in offending. That wasn’t my intention. But I do think that there’s a big misunderstanding there.”

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