Jada Pinkett Smith has made her first public appearance following the headline-making incident between her husband, Will Smith, and Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
On Saturday, “The Matrix Resurrections” actor, 50, attended the opening of the Rhimes Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. The center, which is named after executive producer and author Shonda Rhimes, will be the location of the new Debbie Allen Dance Academy, according to People.
At the event, Pinkett Smith wore in a strapless gold gown as she posed for pictures with Rhimes and Debbie Allen.
According to Broadway World, the Rhimes Performing Arts Center also includes an aerial studio named after Will and Jada Pinkett Smith as well as installations and rooms that honor Kobe Bryant and Berry Gordy.
The “Red Table Talk” host’s attendance at the opening followed news that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ board of governors decided to ban Smith from attending any academy event or program for the next 10 years.
During the 2022 Oscars, Smith slapped Rock on stage after the comedian made a comment about Pinkett Smith’s shaved head and said she could star in a “G.I. Jane” sequel.
Pinkett Smith has been open about her struggles with alopecia, an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss.
In 2018, she described the “terrifying” experience of realizing she was losing her hair during an episode of “Red Table Talk.”
“I was in the shower one day and then just handfuls of hair in my hands,” she recalled at the time. “And I was just like, ‘Oh my God, am I going bald?’ It was one of those times in my life when I was literally shaking with fear.”
After the the organization announced the ban, the “King Richard” star released a statement to NBC News that said, “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.”
When Smith took the Oscars stage on March 27 to accept his award for best actor, he apologized to the academy in his speech.
He then issued an apology to Rock the following day on Instagram.
“Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” he wrote. “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. 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. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”