Will Smith enjoyed an excursion at sea on Sunday as he took to Instagram for the first time since estranged wife Jada Pinkett Smith revealed that they’ve been separated for seven years.
The 55-year-old star was seen riding in a boat days after his wife of 25 years, 52, spoke publicly about their marital estrangement; and he followed up Sunday with his own comments on the situation.
The Oscar-winning actor was seen sleeping in the cabin of the boat, with a voiceover that said, ‘Fun fact about me – I can take a nap almost anywhere,’ with the sound of multiple phone notifications going off simultaneously.
The Philadelphia native – who captioned the post, ‘Notifications off’ – was then seen on the deck of the boat smiling as the vessel buzzed along at sea.
In the clip, Smith was clad in a puffy black coat with black athletic pants and white and brown Nike sneakers.
The latest: Will Smith, 55, enjoyed an excursion at sea on Sunday as he took to Instagram for the first time since estranged wife Jada Pinkett Smith, 52, revealed that they’ve been separated for seven years
The star was seen riding in a boat days after his wife of 25 years, 52, spoke publicly about their marital estrangement
Smith, in an email published Saturday in the New York Times, said that Pinkett Smith’s recent comments on their relationship were a wake-up call to him, adding that she was more ‘resilient, clever and compassionate’ than he’d realized.
The King Richard star told the paper in an email, ‘When you’ve been with someone for more than half of your life, a sort of emotional blindness sets in.
‘And you can all too easily lose your sensitivity to their hidden nuances and subtle beauties.’
Pinkett Smith, who has a memoir coming out won Tuesday titled Worthy, told the Today show’s Hoda Kotb last week that her marriage to Smith hit a crossroad seven years back.
‘I think by the time we got to 2016 we were just exhausted with trying,’ Pinkett Smith said on the broadcast. ‘I think we were both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be.’
She continued: ‘I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through whatever. And I just haven’t been able to break that promise.’
Smith is more than a year-and-a-half from his infamous incident at the 2022 Oscars in which he slapped comic Chris Rock after he made a joke about Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, saying, ‘Jada, I love you, G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it!’
The reference was to the 1997 movie which featured Demi Moore with a shaved head. (Pinkett Smith has diagnosed with alopecia, which causes hair loss.)
The Philadelphia native – who captioned the post, ‘Notifications off’ – was then seen on the deck of the boat smiling as the vessel buzzed along at sea
In the clip, Smith was clad in a puffy black coat with black athletic pants and white and brown Nike sneakers
The veteran entertainer appeared to be in good spirits as the vessel he was on buzzed along
Pinkett Smith told the Today show’s Hoda Kotb last week that her marriage to Smith hit a crossroad seven years back
Smith is nearly a year-and-a-half removed from his infamous 2022 Oscars slap of Chris Rock. The two were seen March 27, 2022 at the ceremony in LA
Smith made international headlines for his outburst toward the comedian at the event at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California
The Oscars exchange between Smith and Rock took place after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head
Smith subsequently apologized on multiple occasions over the incident, and resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ahead of being issued a 10-year ban from the Oscars
Smith apologized to the Academy and other nominees in his acceptance speech, but made no reference to Rock
Smith was seen celebrating at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party after the show
Smith then walked onstage and smacked Rock, then returned to his seat and shouted at him twice, ‘Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!’ to a stunned audience.
Later in the evening – in his acceptance speech after winning the Best Actor Oscar for his role as tennis patriarch Richard Williams in King Richard – Smith apologized to the Academy and other nominees, but made no reference to Rock.
Smith subsequently apologized on multiple occasions over the incident, and resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ahead of being issued a 10-year ban from the Oscars.
In an apology he issued in July of 2022 over the incident in an online clip, Smith said his spouse ‘had nothing to do with’ his attack on Rock.
‘I made a choice on my own from my own experiences, from my history with Chris,’ he said. ‘I want to say sorry to my kids and my family for the heat that I’ve brought on all of us.’
He added: ‘I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk, and when he is he will reach out. So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.’
