Will Smith fans have slammed his wife, Jada Pinkett, over an allegedly toxic gesture she made towards the actor when he signed autographs for fans in Paris this week.
The couple, who split back in 2016 but continue to navigate an unconventional “life partnership,” traveled to France with their family to support their 27-year-old son, Jaden, during fashion week.
But public attention quickly shifted away from the runway after a video filmed outside a local hotel went viral online, sparking fierce debate about Pinkett’s behavior towards her husband.
The much-shared clip shows the family heading towards a waiting vehicle before the 57-year-old Oscar winner stops to greet a massive crowd of waiting fans.
A somber-looking Pinkett, 54, who walked directly behind Smith and held on to his arm, can be seen placing her hand on his back before moving past him and quickly walking in the opposite direction.
She then smiled and briefly turned back as photographers shouted her name.
The footage was uploaded online with a caption claiming that Jada Pinkett pushed Will Smith aside while he was signing autographs for fans and walked away as if he was a complete stranger.
The comments section on social media quickly erupted with furious reactions from Smith’s supporters, who criticized her actions as unnecessarily harsh.
One frustrated fan questioned “what secret she has about Will that has made him stick with her” and called her a woman who “loathes him”.
Others labeled the incident as loser behavior and pointed out the irony of the situation, with one user writing that he slapped a close friend on stage for her in reference to the Chris Rock incident.
Another commenter bluntly summed up the marriage as toxic and stated that if you have no respect for your spouse then you should just move on, while another fan suggested that she hates that he gets all the attention.
Not everyone interpreted the viral interaction so negatively, as several online users rushed to defend Pinkett against the wave of backlash. A defense attorney claimed she simply touched him as she passed as confirmation, insisting there was no pushing involved at all.
Other fans claimed that no woman could ever hate that guy because he has such a big heart.
Another person shut down the claims completely, stating that she didn’t push him aside at all, nor did she ignore him like a stranger, pointing out that she was simply following her daughter as they made their way through the crowd.
