When ‘The View’ Star Joy Behar Asked Will Smith to Defend Himself and “Get in the Ring” With Jada Pinkett

Jada Pinkett Smith recently revealed the unusual dynamics of her relationship with Oscar winner Will Smith, during the release of her memoir Worthy the Nutty Professor actress shared that the couple have been living separate lives for seven years. Then again Pinkett called Smith her "life partner" while appearing on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert last month.

This caused the veteran panelist on the popular daytime talk show - The View to take up the I Am Legend actor's side, Joy Behar called out Smith’s role in 2001’s Ali, and said, “You know, this guy played Mohammed Ali. Come on, get in the ring with her. Why would he sit there and just.." The other co-hosts too asked the Focus actor, in light of his wife's continuing shocking disclosures about their marriage, to "stand up for himself." 

As per The Daily Mail, co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin charged Pinkett of not being able to "take care" of her husband's feelings, implying that the Hollywood pair is "hanging on to the title of marriage." "I love celebrity gossip, you guys know it, but this couple... everything I know about them is like against my will,' she continued. "There is a line in the marriage as we all share about our personal lives, but I would never say something that humiliates, demeans, or shames my husband. We'll make fun of him here and there and what I think has been hard to watch - and I'm gonna give her the benefit of the doubt - I think she's probably someone who processes things by talking them out, and she's chosen to do it in the public eye, unfortunately. But what she's missing is taking care of her partner and father of her children, who you see the pain on his face in these interviews."

Co-host Sunny Hostin, defended the famous couple by taking a page out of Smith's book: "He said in his book that they approached marriage very differently. She had experience in her family's open marriages, whereas in his family he saw it as a much more traditional way but he loved her so much that he was willing to change for her."

Behar then pointed out: "But you can love somebody a lot and not allow them to emasculate you. You have to stand up for yourself!" Co-host Sara Haines then added: "I don't know what's going on there because she also says she's keeping a promise of never getting a divorce, but she doesn't call him a husband, they don't live together, they sleep with different people, their kids are hurting, but they're going to call it a "not broken promise" when you broke every promise along the way." 

To which Griffin responded: "It's like they're hanging on to the title of marriage, but rather than the actual actions and work that goes into marriage. Whoopi says this all the time, "Marriage isn't for everyone..." and Jada said she had to be dragged down the aisle when they got married." Haines insisted 'that should have been a red flag', Griffin continued: "They could safely be co-parents and best friends for years going forward but I don't understand staying in something that appears very unhealthy." Behar shot back saying: "Because he looks pathetic?"

Griffin then said: "The one other thing I will say is we can never make light of the Oscar slap, which we all called out on this show, and I didn't love that she was like, "I knew he was my husband after he physically assaulted someone", that should be the biggest red flag. Because he defended her, that's what she meant, and so she felt proud of the marriage at that moment," Joy then added in conclusion: "Then she turned on him!"

Meanwhile, as per The Decider, Smith stayed away from the public condemnation of his marriage by posting a subtle message on Instagram captioned, “Notifications off ” The short video showcased the After Earth actor taking a peaceful nap on a boat.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on November 24, 2023. It has since been updated.